On Friday, the Giants selected former Tennessee WR Jalin Hyatt with the 73rd overall pick(third round). Last season, Hyatt was the 2022 Biletnikoff Award winner and a big-time playmaker, with 67 receptions for 1267 yards and 15 touchdowns.
According to Hyatt, like most wide receivers, he is always open.
“I feel like I’m just dynamic, explosive; I feel like I get open 24/7,” Hyatt said on Friday. “I think that’s what you want in a receiver, and I feel like, really, with those three attributes, I think that’s what separates myself from everybody else.”
Hyatt is slender(6-0, 188 pounds), and we’ve seen slender wide receivers like DeSean Jackson and DeVonta Smith succeed in the NFL, and Hyatt said he studied Smith’s game.
“I was very big on DeVonta Smith with the Eagles,” he said. “I think he has a lot of capabilities that I have. Slim build, long arms, explosive, dynamic, gets open 24/7. He’s consistent in how he catches the ball. He’s a consistent receiver and a guy that makes plays, and that’s what I want to do. That’s what I want to be when I come here.”
According to Hyatt, now that he’s on the Giants team, he will have a hard time loading up the box to stop Saquon Barkley because they will have to account for his speed.
“When you have (Saquon)Barkley in the backfield, and you know, a lot of guys that we have on this team that’s very, very, very good, they can’t really load the box,” he said. “They can’t go down there and just blitz the whole game. They are going to have respect — they are going to have to respect us, and that’s what I’ll bring and add to the table.”
Giants GM Joe Schoen is impressed by Hyatt’s speed.
He can roll,” Schoen said. “I was at that Alabama game. I can’t remember why I came in late, but I was a little bit late. But I was on the field for the first half. I was coming from another game, landed there, and first half I was on the field, and you could really feel his speed. It’s legit 4-3.”
Giants head coach Brian Daboll added on Hyatt: “I think he’s a good player. I think he runs some of the routes that we run here. You can see, a little bit like Gabe, how it might translate. But again, everything is new for him. He’s a young guy. We’ll throw him in the mix with the other receivers and let those guys compete it out. A good visit here. Definitely has some qualities that you like when you’re watching him. Good young man. So, happy we have him.”
Hyatt was expected to go in the first two rounds, but he dropped; however, none of that bothered Hyatt; he’s just happy for the opportunity with New York.
“For me, I’m just blessed for the opportunity to be here,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I wasn’t worried about if I was sliding up or down or whatever. I just know for me, whatever team drafted me, you know, I knew what I was going to do. I knew what I was going to do. And Giants took me, traded up to get me, and that’s something I’ll never forget, and now it’s time to put in the work.”
The Giants and Daniel Jones needed some wide receiver help, and they might have found that in Hyatt.
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