There's one huge reason why Giants fans should ignore the criticism directed toward WR Jalin Hyatt
Late last month, The Athletic published an article that included some quotes about New York Giants rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt that set the internet ablaze. In the article, an anonymous executive suggests that Hyatt is "naive" and doesn't totally get it "as far as being a pro". “Questions are going to be the strength, […]
Late last month, The Athletic published an article that included some quotes about New York Giants rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt that set the internet ablaze.
In the article, an anonymous executive suggests that Hyatt is "naive" and doesn't totally get it "as far as being a pro".
“Questions are going to be the strength, and the kid is interesting," said the anonymous executive to The Athletic. "He’s just young, little squirrelly, maybe a little naïve. I don’t know if he totally gets it as far as being a pro.“
"He was a one-year producer for a reason,” added the executive. “He struggled to make an impact until this last season.”
An anonymous coach also suggested to The Athletic that Hyatt "has some arrogance to him".
Those quotes are probably concerning to Giants fans, but there's one big reason why the comments about Hyatt should be completely ignored.
There's no doubt that Hyatt is a confident player — he showed that during his media sessions at Tennessee. But there's a difference between being confident and being arrogant. Hyatt was never the latter. He was a hard worker at UT that always looked forward to what he could accomplish instead of looking back at what he did accomplish.
And that's something that Giants general manager Joe Schoen understood about Hyatt before New York selected the former Tennessee standout in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
One of the reasons Schoen felt comfortable with the selection is because of his existing relationship with Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel.
Schoen and Heupel have had a relationship since Heupel's days as the quarterbacks coach at Oklahoma (Schoen was a scout with the Carolina Panthers at the time).
I'd say Schoen, thanks to his relationship with Heupel, has better intel on Hyatt than any of the anonymous coaches/executives giving comments to The Athletic without their names attached.
There's nothing to see here. Just a false narrative about a rookie wide receiver who did everything the right way during a magical 2022 season.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
