Hawkins slots in on the roster as the team’s third safety alongside Kyle Hamilton and Malaki Starks. Hamilton is by far the most celebrated in the room. In his four NFL seasons, he’s made the Pro Bowl three times and twice been an All-Pro. He excels lined up anywhere in the secondary. His defensive backfield mate from last season, Starks, represented himself well in his rookie year, and now Hawkins provides another playmaker as Baltimore is set to dabble more in three-safety sets.
“I think we could be special,” Hawkins said of the safety group. “I think we’ve got something cooking. Everybody is talented in their own way. Everybody has different strengths. We all can get the ball. There’s so much upside to it. Now it’s just about feeding off each other, playing off each other, playing well together.”
A six-year pro, Hawkins has journeyed from a 2020 fourth-round selection by the Falcons to the Chargers and then to the Pats the last two seasons. In 2025, he doubled his career interception mark, adding four more snags to bring his total to eight. He also tied a career high with six passes defensed, set career highs with 1.5 sacks and five quarterback hits, and notably forced a fumble against his future team in Week 15 win over the Ravens.
His best NFL season coincided with the most team success he’s experienced, but Hawkins and New England nonetheless fell one win short of the ultimate goal.
Although he initially thought he might have an opportunity to re-sign and go right back at it with the Patriots, his path instead led south to Baltimore, where he’s determined to let that Super Bowl disappointment fuel him.
“You’ve got to turn the page,” Hawkins said. “I’m in B-more now. That was with the Pats. Now I’m with the Ravens. In order for me to fully embrace this journey, I’ve got to turn the page, but I can use it as motivation.”
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