Giants: Jalin Hyatt changes number to represent his idol, Odell Beckham Jr.
The New York Giants entered the offseason after a playoff berth knowing that they needed to upgrade the weapons on the offensive side of the ball. Fortunately, the team did just that with two key moves. First, the Giants traded for Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller. Waller is a veteran presence that can line […]
The New York Giants entered the offseason after a playoff berth knowing that they needed to upgrade the weapons on the offensive side of the ball. Fortunately, the team did just that with two key moves.
First, the Giants traded for Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller. Waller is a veteran presence that can line up on the outside and provide quarterback Daniel Jones with a reliable and trusted target.
Then, New York followed that up and selected wide receiver Jalin Hyatt in the third-round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Hyatt emerged as one of the most explosive downfield playmaking threats in college football while at Tennessee. And it hasn't taken him long to make an impression on the pro level.
Hyatt's latest move shows that he's ready for the big stage in the NFL – and to be embraced by Giants fans. That's because he's changing his number from 84 – what he wore in the preseason – to 13.
13 is obviously a big number for a wide receiver to wear in the Big Apple. After all, it's the number that Odell Beckham Jr. wore when he became a superstar with the team during his prime.
It just so happens that OBJ is the player that Hyatt grew up idolizing. Now, he gets to wear that same number and create his own legacy with the franchise that drafted him in April.
"What he did here — had a great career with the Giants and kind of took over," Hyatt said of Beckham, via NFL.com. "I was a fan when I was young watching him. High school, college, and now being here, but just with the jersey number, it's just one of those things I wanted to start my own legacy."
There's no doubt that the New York Giants are hoping that Jalin Hyatt has a similar level of success that Beckham enjoyed when wearing the dark blue and red. The expectations will just a bit higher with Hyatt wearing that number.
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Featured image via Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
