Steelers Meet With NFL Draft's Top Deep Threat

The Pittsburgh Steelers are doing their homework on the draft's best vertical receiver.
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INDIANAPOLIS --There wasn't a player in college football this past season that put himself on the map more than Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt. It's rare to see a wideout go from relatively unknown with almost no college production to winning the Biletnikoff award winner given to the position's best performer. The Pittsburgh Steelers took notice and met with him formally in Indianapolis. 

"I was talking to Mike Tomlin, obviously a great head coach," Hyatt said. "I was just talking with the whole coaching staff, very good people. Just talking with them and talking ball, I think what stood out to me was that he was a real genuine person outside of football. Really had a good interaction with them as well. I'm proud of what the Steelers have done with Mike Tomlin and that whole coaching staff and we'll see in the future."

This year's receiver class doesn't have an established consensus WR1 unless you ask Hyatt himself, who made his opinion clear to the media.

The expectations for Hyatt rose greatly after he torched Alabama for five touchdowns in their matchup last season in what ended up being an upset win at home.

"After that game, expectations would be bigger for me," Hyatt said. "It's either you can have this one big game and be a nobody after that, or you can build on and keep building after that. I worry about the next game, who the next opponent was and wasn't celebrating anything. At that point, I was trying to get the Biletnikoff. I can't live off one game."

The speedster detailed what he saw on film leading up to that matchup prior to his explosion.

"Seeing the safeties, if they can get in and out of their breaks," Hyatt said. "Are they fast? They're a quarters team, they run a lot of mix and they put some man in there, too. For us, just seeing the safeties and us trying to get matchups. "

Obviously, the matchup with Alabama wasn't much of a challenge for the Vols' superstar wideout, but who was the best corner he matched up with last season? He said Cam Smith from South Carolina. 

"I have a lot of respect for Cam Smith," Hyatt said. "He's probably the number one guy that I faced. A good dude, when we're on the field, we butt heads but nothing but respect for him."

Hyatt's leap into superstardom happened essentially all night and he explained what finally clicked for him this past season. 

"Hard work and what I did in the offseason," he explained. "Taking advantage of the facilities and taking advantage of the training room. Being more mature, I think that's the biggest thing for me."

Almost all of Hyatt's highlights look almost exactly the same, with him flying right by defenders and leaving them in the dust. He spoke about his track speed translating by stating, "When I step on the field, just knowing that nobody can cover me as far as speed." 

"Not only that but making it a threat for defenders and taking advantage of that," he added. "As far as when I run to them, if I get a free release, seeing if they try to get out a little faster and it actually sets up more stuff for digs, hooks or curls. The speed translates and it's big for the NFL."

Hyatt played the overwhelming majority of his snaps last season in the slot, which makes his projection to the Steelers fairly easy, considering the void that's present there. The system in which he thrived under Josh Heupel provided Hyatt with a ton of free releases via motion and stacked alignments making his projection against press coverage a bit difficult. Hyatt also wasn't asked to run a diverse route tree because, quite frankly, they didn't need him to. 

Pittsburgh had a guy somewhat similar to Hyatt a while back in Mike Wallace, who had a very productive first four years with the Steelers before leaving for more money in free agency. 

The NFL prioritizes speed in today's era, and there are few cornerbacks in the league that will be able to run stride for stride with Hyatt when he's working vertically. 

He would certainly add a different element to Matt Canada's offense and provide an elite field stretcher for Kenny Pickett.

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Derrick Bell
DERRICK BELL

Derrick Bell is a University of Louisville grad who's covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019. Prior to AllSteelers, Derrick contributed to Steel City Blitz.