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The New York Giants selected Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt with the 73rd pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. Here's what you need to know about how his Fantasy stock in both season-long and Dynasty formats is affected by his landing spot.  

Hyatt's Fantasy fit with Giants

The Giants generated the fewest explosive pass plays in the NFL in 2022. That is exactly why they brought in Hyatt, who was one of the most explosive receivers in college football last season and even took home the award as college football's best. There's more projection when it comes to Hyatt than any wide receiver in this class thanks to his transition from Josh Heupel's college offense. The track record of wide receivers translating from an Art Briles-based system to the NFL isn't great so there is certainly some risk in Hyatt's profile.

However, there is a real opportunity to earn a target share with only Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Slayton and Parris Campbell currently ahead of him on the depth chart. Of course, Wan'Dale Robinson is also returning but he's making his way back from an ACL injury. Darren Waller will command middle of the field targets, but if Daniel Jones just need a wide receiver who can win consistently on the vertical plane to increase his downfield throw percentage (his career arc is interesting -- he's been efficient throwing down the field but just doesn't often take those chances), Hyatt could be a late-round gem in redraft leagues.

Dynasty outlook

Hyatt's Dynasty outlook was different before the draft and he fell a bit in our rookie-only Dynasty mock draft, Hyatt came off the board at the back end of Round 2 with the 10th pick in that round. He was the eighth wide receiver selected in that mock. Now that he wasn't given first or second-round NFL Draft capital, he shouldn't rise too much in spite of an excellent landing spot on a Giants franchise that doesn't have any wide receivers signed long term outside of 2022 second-round pick Wan'Dale Robinson (who is recovering from a torn ACL). 

Jalin Hyatt: What to know

Hyatt burst onto the scene during his 2022 season at Tennessee after not making much of a mark previously, but man did he provide a lasting impression. Hyatt won the 2022 Biletnikoff Award as the best wide receiver in college football by racking up 67 receptions, 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns with an 18.9 yards per reception average. If you just threw on Hyatt's game film against Alabama -- a program rich with five stars and arguably the best defensive mind in the NCAA -- you'd probably think he should be a top-10 pick overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Hyatt racked up five touchdowns against Alabama.

However, a deeper dive into Hyatt's film and projection to the NFL level has me a bit worried, to say the least. First of all, Hyatt's production came almost exclusively in 2022. Prior to his breakout season, he only had 19 receptions, 502 receiving yards and four touchdowns. However, I don't think the one-year wonder aspect matters as much as the difficulty in projecting Hyatt's game to the next level. 

That projection is made difficult by the fact that he played in a college system (from the Art Briles coaching tree where no wide receiver has previously translated to the NFL level) that allowed him to get a free release (from stacks where he was always the behind wide receiver in the stack) on most of his snaps. Hyatt faced press coverage on just double digit snaps his entire collegiate career.

Difficult projection or not -- and we'll get more into some of the strengths and concerns in the scouting section below -- there is no denying that Hyatt has the ability to get vertical fast and track the ball in the air on deep passing shots. He reportedly ran a 10.46 100-meter dash and 21.14 200-meter dash. That trait alone has turned out Fantasy Football success stories in the past -- notably Desean Jackson -- but also busts along the way.

Hyatt also has strong bloodlines if you're a bloodline truther. His younger brother (Devin) plays football at IMG Academy. His father played college basketball, and his mother was an All-State sprinter. 

Ultimately, almost no matter where he lands, Hyatt is a player I would much rather target in best-ball drafts than redraft Fantasy leagues for the 2023 season.

Age as of Week 1: 21 | Height: 6-foot-0 | Weight: 176 | 40-time: 4.40

Comparable body-type to: Paul Richardson

We're breaking down everything you need to know about Addison from a Fantasy manager perspective, including best fits, Dynasty outlook, measurables, scouting report, key stats and an NFL comparison.

Scouting report

Strengths

  • Hyatt is viewed by some as a one-trick pony, but that one trick is one of the most important to have -- vertical speed and the ability to win vertically. Hyatt gets from 0 to 60 in a blink and chews up ground on the vertical plane (albeit often from free releases off the line of scrimmage).
  • Ball tracking on the vertical plane is also exceptional for Hyatt -- he has a natural knack and feel for where the ball is going to be on deep passes.
  • Better natural hands than you'd expect for someone with his profile (not the biggest catch radius). He plucks away from his frame down the field.
  • Wins easily and often on the deep crossers on the horizontal plane with pure speed.
  • Fluid athlete.

Concerns

  • Size and frame are concerns for Hyatt. The height isn't a major issue, but 176 pounds puts him in the 5th percentile among wide receivers.
  • Physicality is not at all a part of Hyatt's game. He can get knocked off routes at the catch point, in the middle of routes and most notably after first contact in the open field after the catch.
  • Alarming lack of creativity after the catch for a smaller receiver. You rarely see him plant his foot and create a forced missed tackle after making the catch. It's almost always just plant and get vertical.
  • Incredibly limited route tree playing in that Tennessee offensive system. Deep overs and vertical routes are just about the only routes we can safely project he'll be able to run.
  • Can he beat press man coverage? He faced so few snaps of press man at the collegiate level and was also hidden behind stacked releases to get a free release. If he can win with speed releases off the line of scrimmage against NFL corners, he'll be able to play outside. Otherwise, Hyatt feels like a slot only receiver.
  • For someone who's calling card is their vertical game, a 4.40 40-yard dash was not nearly as fast as hoped for. Having said that, he does look faster than 4.40 on game film. 
  • Hands-catching wasn't an issue for Hyatt, but it's worth noting that he has 20th percentile hand size.
  • Not the smoothest receiver getting in and out of his breaks -- will he win on dig routes? Curl and stick routes? That remains an open question mark and pure projection.

Stats


GRecReYdsAvgTD
20221167126718.915
Career29108176916.419

Other stats to know

  • 88% of Hyatt's career snaps were from the slot.
  • Faced press coverage on just 62 total snaps his entire collegiate career.
  • 18.9 yards per catch in 2022.

NFL comparison

The NFL comparison I like best for Hyatt is also the player who he most compares to from an athletic profile standpoint and that's former Seahawks wide receiver Paul Richardson. Both players won on the vertical plane at the collegiate level and both players have similar concerns from a route diversity standpoint, post-catch creativity, and physicality standpoint. Hyatt has a bit more juice in the vertical game than Richardson but he is less smooth in and out of his breaks than Richardson was prior to the injuries.