Steelers Select OT Jerald Hawkins in the 4th Round

Deep Steelers O-line gets even deeper with LSU’s Jerald Hawkins in 4th round

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected their first offensive player of the 2016 NFL draft in the fourth round, grabbing with 6-foot-6, 305-pound LSU tackle Jerald Hawkins with the 123rd overall pick. It’s hard to find good tackles in the fourth round, and the Steelers feel they did that here. He can play on the left or right side, which Pittsburgh values.

My take: Good running backs were available, but it’s easy to forget during draft week that the Steelers are loaded at the playmaker spots. It never hurts to stockpile the line. Hawkins is a multi-year starter who comes from a pro-style LSU offense and has experience with what the Steelers do up front.

“We feel he has a lot of growth, a lot of talent,” offensive line coach Mike Munchak said.

The Steelers don’t have a fifth-round pick, so they were likely less averse to take a risk in the fourth round. This is a safe play, and rightfully so. Hawkins was possibly a Day 2 pick, so the value here is quality. This isn’t an overly exciting pick — we’re talking about a backup tackle — but Hawkins accentuates a team strength.