Here’s how it was supposed to work. Seattle general manager John Schneider chose guard Christian Haynes in the third round of the 2024 draft with the thought that he would fairly quickly work his way into the starting lineup.
Damien Lewis had vacated the left guard spot for Carolina via free agency, but Schneider had brought in veteran Laken Tomlinson as a stopgap. Perhaps Haynes would inherit the role in his second season.
But it seemed more likely that Haynes was being groomed for Anthony Bradford’s spot at right guard. The biggest clue was that right guard was the only position Haynes played during his entire college career at Connecticut.
Christian Haynes has a lot riding on the Seattle Seahawks' preseason
Bradford still had several years left on his contract, but it’s hard to imagine Schneider invested a third-round pick with the expectation of keeping him on the bench until Bradford, like Damien Lewis, moved on.
But it didn’t happen that way. Haynes never seemed to get into the groove during his rookie season. It wasn’t that he failed to beat out Bradford. The more damning issue came in the middle of the season when Bradford got hurt. Seattle turned to Sataoa Laumea, another rookie drafted almost 100 spots after Haynes, to take over at right guard.
Laumea was gone the following year, and Haynes remained. But he made no progress in his pursuit of a starting job. Bradford stayed in the lineup all year and helped the Seahawks to a championship.
Despite apparent limitations in pass protection, Bradford was still the coach’s choice. As a straight-ahead run blocker, Bradford is a bulldozer. The report on Haynes coming out of college was that he was both a better pass blocker and a better run blocker in space than Bradford. If that was the case, he should have played a bigger role in Seattle’s offense last year.
Seattle has locked down the left guard position with Grey Zabel, but the right guard spot remains an area of concern.
And now, Haynes has been joined by a bunch of other young prospects in pursuit of the spot. Schneider added Bryce Cabeldue and Mason Richman in the 2025 draft and then chose Beau Stephens this year. Even if Bradford remains the starter, which appears to be the case as of now, he will be a free agent after the season.
Haynes is currently listed as Bradford’s backup, ahead of Stephens on the unofficial depth chart. Richman and Cabeldue are second- and third-team behind Zabel on the left side.
The rise of Richman, who was viewed as the fifth offensive tackle last season, and the arrival of Stephens, could be ominous signs for Haynes.
As much as anyone on the offensive line, he needs to take advantage of whatever playing time he gets in the preseason to prove he has developed into a reliable option. With an excellent August, he may even put his name back into the conversation for the starting right guard spot.
But that’s a long way off. At 26, Haynes is suddenly one of the older members of the line. He is even older than Bradford, who was a starter in the league while Haynes was still in college. He needs to show the talent that made him a third-round pick in the first place. If he doesn’t, he may find that 2026 is the year he runs out of chances with the Seahawks.
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