Saints Roster: Realistic expectations for Jerald Hawkins in 2022

Former LSU product Jerald Hawkins is heading into his first full year on the New Orleans Saints roster. What’s to be expected of him this year?

In 2016, LSU offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins heard his name called by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the draft. New Orleans Saints fans were obviously familiar with him considering where he played his college ball at.

Unfortunately, Hawkins struggled to stay healthy in the early stages of his career. He missed the entire 2016 and 2018 seasons after being placed on IR so it wasn’t surprising when the Steelers didn’t keep him around after that 2018 season.

Hawkins appeared in one game for the Buccaneers in 2019 and then eventually found his way back to Pittsburgh in 2020 where he played in a career-high 13 games. The Saints added Hawkins to their practice squad near the end of last season and now he’ll battle to try and earn a spot on the 53-man roster.

Saints Roster: What should fans expect from Jerald Hawkins?

It’s going to be tough for Hawkins to make the team. Ahead of him on the depth chart at right tackle is former first-round pick Ryan Ramczyk and last year’s sixth-rounder Landon Young. He also has to fight off some UDFA tackles who joined the team following the draft (Derek Schweiger and Sage Doxtater).

A realistic expectation for Hawkins is for him to land on the practice squad and likely hang out there for the duration of the season. Sure, injuries could occur that could propel him to the active roster but fans shouldn’t expect to see much of him this year.

If Jerald Hawkins is playing meaningful snaps with the Saints this year, that’s not an ideal situation because it’d mean that something happened to keep Ramczyk out of the lineup. Don’t expect much from the former LSU product in 2022.