German Tackle Devery Hamilton Could be a Solid Option for the Steelers Swing Tackle Role
Most game day rosters in the NFL have nine dressed offensive lineman and the Steelers are no different. Usually the Steelers will have four tackles and five interior guys dressed each week. This leaves little room for fringe players to make the roster. One guy that is not a stranger to sneaking onto a 53-man roster as a team’s ninth offensive lineman is Devery Hamilton.
Hamilton made the Giants’ 53-man roster out of training camp as the ninth offensive lineman in 2022. He played in nine games for the team that season, appearing in 39 offensive snaps and also playing on special teams.
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At 6-foot-6, 310 pounds, Hamilton possesses a great frame for an offensive tackle. In comparison, Broderick Jones is 6-foot-5, 310 pounds. The thing that puts a damper on Hamilton’s chances of making the roster is that the Steelers spent their last two first round picks on tackles. That and Hamilton lacks the experience that somebody like Dan Moore has.
Hamilton’s best chance to making the 53-man roster out of training camp is to become the swing man at tackle while being able to play guard if needed. He will need to replicate some of what Dylan Cook did last training camp if he wants a chance to be the Steelers swing man. The only problem there is that Cook is still on the roster and is likely ahead of him on the pecking order.
Other guys that Hamilton is either behind or in the same position as include Cook and Tyler Beach. Cook’s time in Pittsburgh gives him the edge over Hamilton but Hamilton’s experience probably gives him the edge over Beach
Regardless, the Steelers like the upside that Hamilton brings and with some prior experience in the league, he should earn a practice squad spot if he does not make the final roster. He will have plenty of chances to go against guys like Nick Herbig and possibly T.J. Watt in training camp and if he can impress, he may end up as that ninth offensive lineman again in 2024.
67 • Devery Hamilton, Tackle, Duke
6-foot-6, 310 pounds, 26 years old, 4th Season
Acquired: The Steelers signed former New York Giants tackle Devery Hamilton to a reserve/future contract for the 2024 season on Ja. 17, 2024.
Last Year: Devery Hamilton re-signed with the Giants for the 2023 season, but was waived on Aug. 15 with an injury and did not re-sign with another team for the rest of the season.
Career: The 6-foot-6, 311-pound offensive lineman joined the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2021, and spent some time on the Vegas practice squad before being released on Sept. 24.
Devery Hamilton then caught on with the New York Giants, finished the season there and then re-signed for 2022. That year, he made the team as the ninth offensive lineman and played in nine games for the team, appearing in 39 offensive snaps and also playing on special teams.
In his time with the Giants, Hamilton played right tackle, left tackle, left guard and also served as a jumbo tight end.
According to Pro Football Focus, he has been a better run blocker than a pass blocker, though he was on the field for 39 plays and only seven of them were passes.
Those nine games and 30 offensive snaps have been the only regular season playing time that the Duke product has received since joining the NFL.
| Year | GP | Offensive Snaps | Sacks Allowed | Penalties | PFF Rating |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 9 | 39 | 50.2 | ||
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
College: Devery Hamilton was born in Stuttgart, Germany but went to high school in Maryland. Coming out of high school, Hamilton was a four-star recruit and committed to play his football at Stanford. He did not see any action as a true freshman but played in 12 games as a sophomore in 2017.
During that 2017 season, Hamilton blocked on a line that allowed running back Bryce Love set the school’s single-game rushing record with 301 rushing yards.
In 2018, Hamilton played in 11 games and started six for Stanford. He made three starts at left guard, two at right guard and one at left tackle as a junior. He helped block for K.J. Costello who finished with the second-most passing yards in school history.
As a senior, Hamilton started in the first four games of the season until he was sidelined with an injury that kept him out for the rest of the season. Hamilton transferred to Duke following the 2018 season.
In his lone season at Duke, Hamilton started all 11 games and played well over 800 offensive snaps.
Hamilton played in 38 career collegiate football games and started 21 of them. He registered 1,823 offensive snaps over his five years in school.
Salary cap and future: Hamilton signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers for the 2024 season. If he makes the team in 2024, he will cost $915,000 against the team’s cap space. None of his contract is guaranteed meaning if the Steelers decide to release him, they will not face any dead money penalties.
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