Jalin Hyatt played with a certain level of swagger during his days at Tennessee.
And through several press conferences during his breakout 2022 season and this past offseason, it wasn’t hard to tell that Hyatt didn’t lack confidence in himself and his abilities, either.
One of the more famous videos from the NFL Draft prep season is of Hyatt speaking with a Dallas Cowboys scout during Pro Day in Knoxville. The wide receiver coach labeled Hyatt as a speed guy directly to his face. Hyatt, responding with a statement about his route-running ability, surely used that as motivation as he continued his climb to the league.
While others found holes in Hyatt’s game, the former Vol’s confidence didn’t waiver. He believed in his route-running ability and the speed that he possessed.
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Fast forward a little bit to Hyatt’s rookie season. The South Carolina native didn’t end up with any receptions in his season debut against Dallas but rose to the occasion during the Giants’ comeback win in Week 2 over Arizona.
Hyatt ended the day as the Giants’ leading receiver with two receptions for 89 yards on a deep shot and a long intermediate route.
During his first reception – the deep shot against the Cardinals – Hyatt broke Arizona cornerback Marco Wilson with a head fake and created enough separation to get down the field using his speed. Quarterback Daniel Jones hit Hyatt over the top for a gain of more than 50 yards into the red zone.
Jalin Hyatt’s first NFL catch is a bomb pic.twitter.com/HGLBD1alvC
— More Important Issues (@More_Issues) September 17, 2023
On an episode of Up & Adams with Kay Adams this week, Jones spoke about the swagger and confidence that Hyatt showed in that game against the Cardinals.
“On the sideline [Hyatt] said, ‘Give me a chance. I’ll run past ’em’ and he certainly did,” Jones said to Adams.
Hyatt’s receptions against the Cardinals showed exactly why the Giants drafted him out of Tennessee in the third round and how his game-changing speed can open up things for an offense. Down 20-0 at halftime, Hyatt’s two second-half receptions helped the Giants find the 31-28 win by the end of the day.
“He’s a confident guy,” Jones continued on to say. “You want receivers that want the ball so you love hearing that. The coverage gave him a chance to do it so he made a heck of a play.”
Hyatt and the Giants will take on the San Francisco 49ers this Thursday night on Amazon Prime Video at 8:15 p.m. ET.
"You want receivers that want the ball"@jalinhyatt does not lack confidence, and it paid off @Daniel_Jones10 @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/Nh9Q5XkgdH
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) September 19, 2023
