The Pittsburgh Steelers offseason player development watch-list is currently abundant as is usually the case every year and while most of the fan’s focus will obviously be on the team’s eight draft picks this summer for obvious reasons, the progress of one of last year’s draft picks deserves close monitoring as well.
Second-year tackle Jerald Hawkins, who was selected last year by the Steelers in the fourth-round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of LSU, had his rookie season wiped out by a preseason shoulder injury. While Hawkins did appear to play well in the Steelers 2016 preseason opener against the Detroit Lions, it’s important to note that the 46 snaps he played in that game is all we have to go on at this point.