The 2022 offseason trade with the Cleveland Browns gave the Houston Texans a chance to instantly upgrade whichever aspect of the game or side of the ball they choose.
With twin Round 1 picks at Nos. 2 and 12 overall, the Texans can grab a quarterback and pair him with a highly touted receiver to give Houston’s passing attack immediate credibility and give opponents a duo to fear in coming seasons.
One of the names that has been slotted at No. 12 overall in mock drafts is Tennessee wideout Jalin Hyatt — albeit not as often as TCU’s Quentin Johnston and USC’s Jordan Addison.
According to NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who was on a conference call on Feb. 24, teams that are interested in Hyatt need to comprehend what he can bring to a team’s passing game immediately and allow him the chance to develop into a complete receiver.
“I’ve seen him flash the ability to get in and out of breaks,” Jeremiah said. “He just doesn’t do a ton of it. My thing with him is I think there’s a high floor, because worst case scenario he is going to stretch the field. He is going to take the top off of defenses. You’ll be able to put him in the slot and be able to run deep overs and run verticals. You can just pitch him the ball and let him do some things after the catch with his speed.”
Where Texans receivers coach Ben McDaniels would need to help Hyatt is with his routes.
“He is going to need work to develop the full route tree,” said Jeremiah. “That’s not going to happen right away. I think in the immediate term you have an elite field stretcher, so, I think you’ve got to know what you are buying there and know what that role is going to be.
“If you are going to bring him in there and ask him to be Keenan Allen, then that’s not going to work because that’s not who he is.”
Hyatt caught 67 passes for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns through 12 games for the Volunteers in 2022.
