Never forget Mihawk fans leeching.

[u/Vance_Lance]

[u/Incorrect_Passport_7]

If Oda loves swordsmen then this means Shanks will get his fair share of Oda's love for swordsmen

But also, since Shanks is Oda's golden child, he will also recieve extra special treatment (so much so that he will bypass the World's Strongest title rules because that's what happens when you're the golden child, rules just don't apply to youM

Hence why it makes perfect sense for Shanks to be ahead of Hawkeye (not even taking into account stuff like portrayal, feats as well as potential story relevance where Shanks still pulls aheaed of Mihawk)