On April 26, 2024 Christian Haynes, an offensive lineman at the University of Connecticut, was drafted to the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 81 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The only player in UConn football history to be named an Associated Press All-American selection in back-to-back seasons officially made it to the big time.
The young guard headed to Seattle where he would see action in 16 games, setting himself up to compete for a starting spot in his second season. While Haynes is now a fixture in the Pacific Northwest, his journey began in the DMV.
Born and raised in Bowie, Maryland in Prince George’s County, Haynes saw the blueprint of success all around him.
“Prince George’s County is the most, I’ll say, Black excellent community in the nation,” Haynes said. “So, I grew up around Black teachers, Black doctors, Black really everything.”
Further, Prince George’s County is synonymous with athletic success, having produced numerous professional athletes – most notably, Kevin Durant. Athletic prowess existed in the Haynes household as well; Haynes’ father, maternal grandfather and two older brothers all played college football with one brother even making it to the NFL before Christian.
“Our bloodline is ball,” Haynes said, and there was never any misconception that the same wasn’t possible for him.
“You can see the work ethic from my family and see the work ethic that they’re trying to put in their kids,” Haynes said of growing up in Bowie. “It's being around that all the time and it’s having a nice group of friends and community where they want to see everybody succeed because they want to see the Black excellence keep evolving.”
With his mother’s guidance and the stepping stones paved before him by his two older brothers, Haynes ultimately committed to play D1 football at UConn. Haynes reminisced on how his mother’s business savvy and commitment to aid her sons to their goals were instrumental in his eventual successes.
After redshirtting his freshman season, Haynes would start all 49 consecutive games on the offensive line for the remainder of his collegiate career. Even with a coaching staff change in 2022 and opportunities to transfer prior to his final season with the Huskies, Haynes remained committed to the program that gave him a chance out of high school.
“ I was a big loyalty guy, and UConn gave me a chance when I was young as a guy that always had to fight hard and push to be one in the top,” Haynes said about his decision to stay in Storrs. “So, I decided to stay and duke it out.”
The decision proved fruitful on that April day in 2024 when the Seahawks used their second pick of the draft on Haynes, and, despite being a rookie, was a consistent part of the offensive line rotation in the coming season.
For his first NFL offseason, Haynes looked for a place to train in preparation to compete for a starting spot on the Seahawks’ line and found Velocity Athlete Development – a training facility in Georgia known for their offensive line expertise.
“It’s the level of detail Velocity puts in their work as we keep going every day or every time you work out,” Haynes said about why he chose Velocity.
It was important to Haynes to find somewhere that would aid not only his OL development but help him get stronger through targeted performance training. Velocity checked all the boxes Haynes was looking for.
“I just knew they were going to push me to my limits and get me going, so once I get back [to Seattle] I’ll be ready to go,” Haynes said.
The Seahawks squad reported for training camp today where Haynes, equipped with the foundation he laid in Maryland, Connecticut, Washington and now in Georgia, will indeed be ready to go.