Leading up to the 2023 NFL draft, many believed Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt was a first-round talent. And when he fell to the New York Giants in Round 3 (following a trade-up), the consensus was general manager Joe Schoen got a steal.
However, there were a few outliers. Some expressed concern over Hyatt’s ability to run the full route tree — something head coach Brian Daboll dismissed — while one NFL executive took it to another level.
Speaking to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, the anonymous executive referred to Hyatt as “squirrelly” and “naïve.”
“Talented athlete, obviously elite speed,” the executive said. “Questions are going to be the strength, and the kid is interesting. 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.”
The executive doesn’t have off-field concerns with Hyatt, but said the questions about his personality help explain why he slid to the third round and was the 10th wide receiver drafted.
An anonymous coach also offered a critical take on Hyatt’s personality.
“He’s got some arrogance to him, like ‘I’ve got all the answers,'” the coach said.
There has been nothing glaringly off-putting or odd about Hyatt’s personality thus far. In fact, he’s handled the media like a mature, seasoned pro and is constantly seen putting in extra work with quarterback Daniel Jones and his other teammates. He’s drawn nothing but praise from those inside the building.
Jalin Hyatt has not gotten many reps with the 1’s in the two open OTAs, but noticed him sticking after practice to work with Daniel Jones. They were drilling a deep out route repeatedly, even walking through the footwork at the top of the route together in between reps.
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) May 31, 2023
Why Hyatt appears to have a target on his back is unclear, but he seems like the type who will take these criticisms and turn them into fuel.
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