Christian Haynes scouting report: Exploring the UConn interior offensive lineman's strengths and weaknesses

A zero-star recruit in 2018, Christian Haynes played in just two games his first year with the Huskies (picking up a redshirt). He started 12 games at right guard the following season. 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19, but he retained his job for all 37 contests the next three years combined. This past season, he was recognized as a third-team All-American.

Christian Haynes scouting report

Run-blocking:

• Built like Blastoise from Pokemon and frequently can up defensive linemen in the run game
• Capable of really getting the train rolling, as he gets underneath the arm-pit of nose-tackles on zone combos with the center
• Regularly can scoop- or reach-block defender in the next-closest gap on wide zone and get his hips around to force them to go through him
• Showcases the dexterity in his lower half to re-establish leverage, lift and wall off defenders
• Is actively looking for work when he can’t attach to somebody on lateral concepts and delivers some knock-downs on moving targets
• You see him explode out of his stance and pump those arms hard pulling out to the corner, looking to take out smaller defenders
• Consistently can bring his hips through contact against moving targets on the second level and alter their momentum to ride them out of the action
• His 16 big-time blocks (PFF’s highest-graded blocks) led all FBS guards in 2022 and he earned PFF run-blocking grades above 80 each of the past two seasons

Pass-protection:

• Quick to land his hands and take charge of pass-pro reps typically
• When he attaches those mitts to the numbers of his man, they don’t usually come off anymore, showing the anchor ability to maintain the integrity of the pocket
• His agility to slide his feet and cut off cross-face moves is uncommon for a man as powerful as Haynes
• Uses his hands pro-actively to re-gain control of reps where the defender lands first meaningful contact to swat down their arms and then takes advantage of them losing control, by burying them underneath himself
• Makes sure to gain ground vertically and manages that space between the tackle and center very well when he’s unoccupied
• Even when he seems out of position to take over the secondary looper on twists, Haynes can flip and ride guys just enough so they don’t affect his quarterback
• Effectively covers up bodies on play-action, particularly forcing them to flow along off bootlegs
• Earned the highest PFF pass-blocking grade among guards (second in terms of IOL) in 2022 (91.0), not allowing any sacks and just three(!) total pressures over 348 snaps in the passing game – one sack and ten other pressures on 438 such snaps in ‘23

Weaknesses:

• Allows D-linemen to “win the gap” early too often and allows penetration in the run game, in part because he doesn’t connect his play-side hand to the opposite pec regularly
• Limits his ability to lock up interior rushers because of how wide he starts with his arms, which becomes an issue against guys who have a two-way go
• Doesn’t show the mental fortitude to anticipate and quickly transition on twists yet
• Can’t be as obvious with some of his “take-down moves” – was penalized nine times in 2022, four times last year
• Never played a single snap anywhere but right guard with the Huskies, even though he did slide into center a few times during Senior Bowl week

As far as smaller school prospects go, I feel about as good about projecting Haynes to the next level as any of them. UConn didn’t run many gap schemes, but he can certainly take D-linemen off their landmarks on down blocks and he can plug in for a more zone-heavy team pretty much right away.

I’m not as worried about the level of competition he’s faced in college after seeing him put the clamps on Power Five standouts throughout Senior Bowl week. This guy has the build to move people against their will in the run game and is one of the strongest anchors you’re going to find from a college player. I’d take him in the second round without hesitation.

Grade: Second round