SEC defensive coordinator gives honest thoughts on Vols WRs Cedric Tillman and Jalin Hyatt
Tennessee Vols wide receivers Cedric Tillman and Jalin Hyatt were selected with back-to-back picks in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns selected Tillman with the No. 74 overall pick, one selection after the New York Giants took Hyatt with the No. 73 overall pick. Tillman and Hyatt were the first […]
Tennessee Vols wide receivers Cedric Tillman and Jalin Hyatt were selected with back-to-back picks in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Cleveland Browns selected Tillman with the No. 74 overall pick, one selection after the New York Giants took Hyatt with the No. 73 overall pick.
Tillman and Hyatt were the first Tennessee wide receivers to post back-to-back 1,000 yards seasons (Tillman went over 1,000 yards in 2021 and Hyatt went over 1,000 yards in 2022) since Justin Hunter in 2012 and Da'Rick Rogers in 2011.
After the draft, ESPN spoke to several anonymous college football coaches to gauge their reaction to this year's selections.
One of the coaches, an unnamed SEC defensive coordinator, believes that Tillman will be a better NFL player than Hyatt.
The SEC defensive coordinator pointed to Tillman's ability to make contested catches as one reason why he thinks that will be the case.
"Tillman's got better hands," said the SEC defensive coordinator. "Hyatt, when he was wide open, they could use his speed. They did a great job of creating open receivers. When he had to make contested catches, he struggled. Tillman will do a good job. Those big, physical guys do well."
A Power 5 coordinator agreed that Tillman will be better, though he pointed to Tillman's bigger route tree as the reason why he feels that way.
"His (Tillman) route tree's bigger. He's just got more to offer," said the coordinator.
There's no doubt that Tillman is better at making contested catches, but I'm not sure anyone can call Tillman the better route runner. They both played in a Pro-Style offense before Josh Heupel's arrival at Tennessee, so they have experience with more traditional routes. They also each did what they were asked to do under Heupel at Tennessee and they each excelled.
For what it's worth, Giants head coach Brian Daboll doesn't seem to be concerned about Hyatt's route running. Daboll told reporters last week that Hyatt ran some of the same routes at Tennessee that the Giants utilize.
The talk about the route running of Tillman and Hyatt is much ado about nothing. Both players are smart and know how to get open. They'll handle NFL routes just fine.
