Risk Flags
6- Depth Chart
Haynes is a UDFA at the bottom of a 5-deep Bengals backfield featuring Chase Brown (locked-in RB1), Samaje Perine, Tahj Brooks, and Kendall Milton. Making the 53-man roster is not guaranteed.
- Production Concerns
His 2025 final college season dropped sharply to 537 rushing yards on 4.3 YPC, and he was outproduced by backfield mate Malachi Hosley down the stretch — a red flag for evaluators heading into the draft process.
- Roster Security
As an undrafted free agent, Haynes has no guaranteed path to the 53-man roster and faces preseason competition against multiple players with more job security and capital investment from the team.
- Role Ceiling
Scouting reports flag poor pass protection skills, which severely limits his ability to earn a three-down role and caps his NFL ceiling at a situational or change-of-pace specialist even in a best-case scenario.
- Scheme Fit
Haynes is an undersized, low-center-of-gravity back whose pass-protection limitations cap his three-down ceiling and make it hard to earn passing-down snaps over more proven options.
- Roster Path
Analysts agree his only realistic path to a roster spot is carving out special-teams value, a fragile foundation for any dynasty relevance.