New York Giants fans have become accustomed to receivers wearing No. 13 making spectacular, highlight-reel-type one-handed catches.
Such was the calling card of the most famous Giant to wear No. 13 in recent years, Odell Beckham Jr, who was with the Giants from 2014 to 2018 and whose amazing one-handed grab in a primetime game against the Dallas Cowboys put Beckham on the map.
It turns out there might be some magic left in Beckahm's old jersey, as during Friday's OTA workout, receiver Jalin Hyatt, who is looking to create some highlight reel-worthy plays of his own in that No. 13, came up with a Beckham-like grab on a ball thrown by quarterback Tommy DeVito.
Hyatt, whom the Giants traded up to get in the third round of last year's draft to acquire, first put his speed on display last summer during training camp. However, when the regular season rolled around, he sort of became a forgotten man.
In 17 games played (seven starts), Hyatt caught 23 of 40 passes (57.5 percent) for 373 yards and no touchdowns. He also only averaged 9.3 yards per pass target and had three dropped passes with just one broken tackle in his stat line--all disappointing numbers for the former Tennessee receiver who was coming off a 67-catch, 1,267-yard season for the Vols.
He recorded one 100-yard receiving game as a rookie in a game against the Patriots in Week 12 when he caught five balls for 109 yards. He has the speed and decent enough hands, but as he showed during his rookie campaign, he needs work on the other facets of his game.
Hyatt had two big catches for the Giants in Week 2, including a 58-yarder, but when asked to run something other than go routes after that big game, he was found wanting. By year’s end, however, it was apparent that his routes needed lots of work, as did his ability to beat press coverage and his strength.
The good news is that Hyatt has been hard at work in the lab, working to improve his deficiencies from a year ago so that he can grab his piece of the pie in the coming season.
“Yeah, I think Jalin's growth so far is tremendous,” said Giants receivers coach Mike Groh. “All the work that he invested in his game, learning what, how, and why, he's just a different guy."
Groh said Hyatt has gotten stronger and has put on muscle, though he didn’t know exactly how much weight Hyatt, listed as 6-0 and 185 pounds by the Giants, added.
“He is always flexing for me every time I walk by him,” Groh said with a grin. “I'm like, ‘I see you, buddy.’ He is proud of the work that he put in. He's not afraid to work. He wants to be a great player and has invested that time in the off-season when no one's looking, and feels good about where he is at strength-wise.”
Groh said Hyatt’s confidence has grown due to his off-season work.
“He still has the speed that we all love about him," Groh said. "Confidence is a result of demonstrated performance, and he was able to go out there and make plays for us, show up in games, and help us win games. He has a lot of experience, a lot of in-game experience, and that can only serve him well this year."
While Hyatt has worked to improve, there is still much room—and upcoming opportunity—for Hyatt to accomplish even more.
“I think he's still got some room where he wants to improve in that area, but he's just a young guy, so he is, he's got a lot of time to do that,” Groh said.
