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David Hawthorne hasn't said much this season. Among the New Orleans Saints linebackers, he's sometimes the forgotten one. His production has been relatively quiet, too.

This isn't quite what he signed up for.

When Hawthorne signed on with the Saints in free agency this past offseason, he did so with the anticipation of being the Saints' starting weak side linebacker.

But since returning from a hamstring injury in Week 9, Hawthorne has rarely gotten to take snaps on the weak side. Instead, he's had to learn to play strong-side linebacker, a position Hawthorne, who was used mostly as a middle linebacker throughout the first four years of his career, was unfamiliar with.


"It's usually a certain body type, a bigger, longer taller kinda guy," the 6-feet, 246-pound Hawthorne said of the prototypical strong-side linebacker. "It's a different style of play. It's a different vanish point, you just see the game from a different angle and that takes some getting used to. You play blocks differently. You are on the line of scrimmage so everything happens a little quicker. It just takes some learning and adjusting."

New Orleans Saints LB David Hawthorne adjusting to the strong side | NOLA.com

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