Seahawks continue to draft players at positions of need who embody their mission statement

RENTON — The Seahawks drafted a Husky to fill a hole at guard.

Just not the one you thought.

After passing on former UW standout (and Seattle mock draft darling) Troy Fautanu to snag Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II with the No. 16 overall pick, the Seahawks waited 24 hours and 65 picks to address the position.

On Friday, they nabbed Connecticut Husky guard Christian Haynes in the third round, with the No. 81 pick.

Granted, he’s not Fautanu, a favorite of Seahawks (and former UW) offensive line coach Scott Huff. He lacks the local following.

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But brings the position fit.

In Christian Haynes, the Seahawks add critical depth at perhaps their most vulnerable position, after each of last year’s opening-day starters — left guard Damien Lewis and right guard Phil Haynes — departed this offseason. With Seattle signing veteran Laken Tomlinson to a one-year deal to likely slot in at left guard, Christian Haynes seems set to compete with Anthony Bradford on the opposite side.

After all, the 6-foot-3, 317-pound Haynes started 49 consecutive games at UConn and logged 2,424 snaps (according to Pro Football Focus) the past three seasons. He noted Friday: “I take a lot of pride [in that starting streak]. There’s not a lot of people who can be able to do that and stay healthy as well during that process.”

But while history says he’ll play right guard, Haynes says not so fast.

“I can play anything they need me to play,” the Bowie, Md., native said. “I’m going to go out there and dominate regardless.”

He certainly did so at UConn. Haynes was named a third-team Associated Press All-American in both 2022 and 2023, while being voted a captain by his teammates in back-to-back seasons. In 1,294 pass block snaps across the last three campaigns, he surrendered a grand total of three sacks (two of which came in 2021, according to PFF).

Moreover, the 24-year-old guard reported Friday that he graduated with a bachelor’s in human development and family science and a master’s in sports management.

It’s a largely defunct phrase, but Haynes personifies the student-athlete.

A coalescing marriage between Jekyll and Hyde.

Classy and nasty.

“Somebody that’s smart and nasty at the same time,” Haynes said, describing his game. “Somebody that’s very athletic. Somebody that’s able to run and also dominate at the point of attack.”

Added Seahawks president of football operations John Schneider, relaying a scouting report from UConn coach Jim Mora: “You’re going to be getting a classy, highly intelligent, nasty football player. Great combination, if you like that sort of thing. Classy and nasty.”

That might also describe Mike Macdonald’s approach to his first draft as the Seahawks’ coach. In Murphy (6-1, 297) and Haynes (6-3, 317), he added physicality on both fronts — an attempt to adopt, cultivate and encourage a dominant identity.

He didn’t spring for the sizzle of a flashy quarterback to compete with Geno Smith and Sam Howell. He didn’t reach at skill positions that sell Seahawks jerseys, whether a wide receiver or running back or cornerback with name recognition. Without the second-round selection that landed with the New York Giants via last season’s trade for defensive lineman Leonard Williams, he opted for blue-collar team-building in the trenches.

Still, it’s not enough to fill a need with a player who’s not a talent or a character fit, an easy trap to tumble down. (L.J. Collier and Malik McDowell come to mind, albeit for dramatically different reasons.)

It’s a trickier task to take players at positions of need who embody the Seahawks’ mission statement.

“The style of play that no one wants to play … that’s what we’re aiming for,” Macdonald said. “That’s our standard for how we play football. If you want to play here, you’re going to have to play a certain way. Those are the types of guys we’re bringing in.”

But how much will it matter? This was a unit, after all, that finished 20^th in the NFL in yards per carry (4.1) and 28^th in rushing offense (92.9 yards per game) in 2023. This was an offense lacking a consistently physical edge, despite a pair of capable running backs in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet.

On the other side, the Seahawks’ defense was also all-too-often physically overmatched — finishing 27th in opponent yards per carry (4.6) and 31st in rushing (138.4 yards allowed per game).

It’s one thing to set a new standard on both sides of the ball.

It’s another thing to reach it.

So, yes, it’s impossible on draft day to grade a pick in permanent ink. Physicality is an easy word to say and a mighty mountain to summit. And plenty of picks look like homers off the bat but fall flat at the warning track.

But Haynes, like Murphy, makes sense for who the new-look Seahawks strive to be.

Classy. Nasty.

Hungry.

“You want to deal with him?” NFL Network analyst Charles Davis said of Haynes on Friday. “Pack a lunch, and maybe a snack.”