Giants WR Jalin Hyatt Aims to Seize Opportunity in Front of Him

A patient Jalin Hyatt knows his opportunities will come this season.

Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt (13) warms up before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

New York Giants second-year receiver Jalin Hyatt didn’t come right out and say as much, but when he abruptly left the Giants locker room following their Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, sporting the eye black still on his face, it was clear that he wasn’t too happy with his role in the game in which he only played 15 snaps–four of those coming in the first half–and saw one pass target.

Hyatt’s mood likely didn’t improve much if he caught wind of head coach Brian Daboll’s response about him being the “third/fourth” receiver behind Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton.

But now, with Slayton Hyatt’s primary competition during training camp, in the concussion protocol and his status uncertain for Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders, Hyatt potentially has a chance to earn a bigger slice of the pie if he can deliver a solid showing.

Daboll confirmed that Hyatt, for whom the team traded up to acquire in the 2023 draft, would step in for Slayton if he is unable to clear the protocol, adding that he feels good about Hyatt stepping in if need be.

Now it’s up to Slayton to justify his head coach’s confidence in him.  

“Yeah, I knew a little bit going into it,” Hyatt said about his limited playing time. “We have good receivers in that room, and we wanted to go with more experience. There's nothing wrong with that. 

“For me, it's just keep getting better, focus on myself, focus on my goals and what I have to do. Just make plays when they come to me. That's my focus right now.”

Hyatt’s lone pass target on Sunday came in the fourth quarter, during garbage time on a deep in-route on which he got his hands on the slightly high ball, but couldn’t secure it.

That comes off a play Hyatt failed to make in the preseason game against the Texans when quarterback Daniel Jones put a ball up for grabs intended for Hyatt only to see Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr come down with it as Hyatt didn’t appear to try to swat the ball away from Stingley.

As a rookie, Hyatt, who admittedly was raw having been in a limited system at Tennessee, caught 23 of 40 pass targets (57.5 percent) for 373 yards and no touchdowns. He also had five dropped passes while being targeted just 12 times in the team’s final five games.

That said, no one is giving up on Hyatt or his ability to slice the top off a defense. As he gains more reps and experience and does something with those reps, Hyatt figures to see his role increase and he knows he has to be patient. 

“It's week one–we've got a long season,” he said. “For us, we're on to a new week, the Commanders, and we've got to be prepared; we've got to be ready.”

Should Hyatt get his opportunity on Sunday, he said getting the offense, which last week finished with 240 net yards, going comes down to execution.

“They have a good defense and we've got to be prepared,” he said. “We've got to be prepared for the looks that we'll see. Taking practice day by day and learning from it and being critical about it. 

“We were critical about the film against the Vikings. … We just got to execute. We got to bring the pieces together. And, you know, we will do that.”

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