Big Blue View
The speedy wide-out could be on the roster bubble
The New York Giants were one of the true surprises to come out of the 2022 season. They were resilient and flexible, hanging tough late in games and adapting to exploit their opponents’ tendencies.
However, their games against better defenses revealed a flaw in their offense: They simply didn’t have the the speed to force opponents to defend every blade of grass. That allowed them to play downhill and choke out the quick-game concepts that had formed the foundation of their offense.
So, the Giants selected wide receiver Jalin Hyatt out of Tennessee in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Hyatt was widely regarded as a steal at 73rd overall. While there were concerns regarding his slight frame, his raw speed and big play ability seemed to be the answer the Giants’ were looking for.
Two years later, Hyatt has yet to emerge as the explosive threat the Giants envisioned him being. Instead, he took a step backward in every metric as a sophomore, making 2025 a pivotal year. Can he become the threat the Giants envisioned, or is he destined to be come a “former Giant”?
We can, and will, talk about Hyatt’s speed and ball skills. But the first thing I want to call attention to is his competitive toughness.
Hyatt isn’t a particularly physical, or physically imposing, receiver. However, he’s a willing blocker and quick to transition from receiver to blocker to help out his teammates. He doesn’t seem to hesitate to get his hands dirty when he’s on the play side. Likewise, Hyatt was frequently used as an element of route concepts but was outside of the progression. Rather than an a receiving option, his routes were often designed to clear out defenders or serve as misdirection to make defenders hesitate.
But despite the fact that he wasn’t going to get the ball, he still played hard and ran his routes convincingly.
Those are small things that never show up on highlight reels, but become apparent when you watch enough tape.
For instance, watch Hyatt on this play from the end of the Giants’ season-opening blowout against the Minnesota Vikings.
It’s ultimately a sack of Daniel Jones for a 7-yard loss, but Hyatt is working exceptionally hard to get open in the scramble drill when the play breaks down.
(Hyatt is at the top of the screen, the outside receiver on the offensive right.)
Where other players stop to watch Jones get sacked, Hyatt keeps running and working to get open. That kind of competitiveness has value, even if it goes unnoticed in the moment.
Moving on, we do need to talk about Hyatt’s speed and ability to get open, even if he wasn’t targeted.
Here we see Hyatt as an outside receiver, this time across from Darius Slayton against the Seattle Seahawks.
He’s at the top of the screen, on the offensive left, and matched up against Seahawks cornerback Riq in man...
