Jalin Hyatt NFL Rookie Profile - Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Outlook

Jackson Sparks' fantasy football rookie analysis for wide receiver Jalin Hyatt. Is this NFL rookie wide receiver a 2023 fantasy football draft sleeper?

University of Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt was a controversial prospect among fantasy and "real life" football analysts ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft. He is the reigning Biletnikoff Award winner -- the Nation's most outstanding wide receiver -- but there were concerns raised about Tennessee's unique offense featuring lightning-fast tempo and wide splits.

That said, the legitimacy of Hyatt's production came into question, especially since it was his first year as a full-time player. Hyatt struggle early in his collegiate career and saw his draft stock fluctuate throughout the pre-draft process, as we'll dive into below.

What did Hyatt accomplish during his Tennessee career and what is his fantasy football outlook with the New York Giants as a rookie and beyond? Let's dive in.

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Jalin Hyatt NFL Rookie Profile

Team: New York Giants

College: Tennessee

Height: 6’0"

Weight 176

Age: 21 (9/25/2001)
40-Time: 4.40

Arm Length: 32.5”

Hand Size: 9"

2022 NFL Draft: Round 3, Pick: 10

Hyatt's Slow Start At Tennessee

Hyatt's freshman and sophomore campaigns were quiet, playing behind the likes of Velus Jones Jr., Joshua Palmers, and Cedric Tillman. The South Carolina native caught just 42 passes for 502 yards and four touchdowns during the two-year span.

Still, he flashed upside and speed when he was called upon, but by all accounts, he wasn't ready to be a major producer early on his in career. With Jones Jr. (drafted by Chicago Bears in third round), Hyatt would be set up to take a primary role in the electric and prolific Tennessee offense.

2022 Breakout Campaign

Cedric Tillman posted 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2021 and was expected to be the Volunteers' No. 1 wide receiver again in 2022. However, the fifth-year senior suffered an ankle injury in Tennessee's third game against Akron, setting Hyatt up to be the go-to guy for quarterback Hendon Hooker.

Hyatt caught two passes for 28 yards and a touchdown against Ball State in the Week 1 blowout win, then followed it up with an 11-catch, 73-yard performance against Pittsburgh in Week 2. Tillman exited the Akron game early, and Hyatt took advantage. The junior caught five passes for a career-high 166 yards and two touchdowns in his first big breakout game.

He'd have a solid game against Florida, then go on a four-week terror against LSU, Alabama, UT-Martin, and Kentucky. Over that four-game stretch, Hyatt caught 22 passes for 582 yards and 11 touchdowns -- fully breaking out and catapulting himself into a legitimate NFL prospect.

Hyatt struggled against the almighty Georgia defense before bouncing back against Missouri, then had another underwhelming contest compared to expectations against South Carolina. He played sparingly in the dominant win over Vanderbilt with Joe Milton at QB taking over for Hendon Hooker (torn ACL).

There's plenty of talk about Hyatt's breakout only becoming possible because of Tillman's injury -- and there could be merit to the claim.

While Hyatt caught more passes while Tillman was on the field, his receiving yards and touchdown share took a meaningful drop. However, the 2021 season where Tillman starred and Hyatt was quiet is more proof for that narrative. This was just one factor considered in his overall draft profile and stock, as we'll get into below.

Jalin Hyatt Draft Stock Movement

In the middle of the 2022 college football season, Hyatt began to get early-t0-mid first-round hype, but his stock seemed to drop a little bit with each passing week as the offseason began. The end of Hyatt's award-winning season left a lot to be desired and as analysts dove into his tape, many questioned whether he could run real routes in the NFL.

Hyatt played the majority of his snaps off the line of scrimmage and Tennessee's fast-paced offense led to many busted coverages where Hyatt simply had to flash his straight-line speed, rather than make moves in the open field. Beyond that, his 4.4 forty-yard-dash time at the 2023 NFL Combine was certainly fast, but at just 176 pounds, many hoped he's run closer to a 4.3 than a 4.4.

Ultimately, a lot of question marks came with his overall profile, including: why did it take until his junior season to break out, will the Tennessee offense translate to the NFL, and can he run a complex route tree at the next level?

Still, he was projected to be a late-first or early-second-round selection just before the draft but ultimately fell all the way to pick 73 overall to the New York Giants.

Jalin Hyatt 2023 Fantasy Football Outlook

New York's wide receiver room consists of Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, Parris Campbell, and Wan'Dale Robinson. Shepard has been productive at points during his career, but he's suffered multiple major lower-body injuries and likely won't get back to that level. Robinson is also coming off a torn ACL. Slayton, Hodgins, and Campbell are veterans without resumes of consistent production, so targets are up for grabs with tight end Darren Waller being the only established stud.

That said, Hyatt's third-round draft capital means he's not guaranteed to start ahead of any of those players on the depth chart and be involved in the Giants' offense led by Daniel Jones. In all likelihood, he won't command a full-time position by Week 1 and will be utilized as a pure field stretcher in the early part of his career.

He doesn't project as a high-end target hog in the NFL, so expectations for his fantasy production should be tempered. He'll likely make more of a positive impact in terms of "real life" football and open the middle of the field for players like Waller and Robinson, but it's hard to see a path toward weekly upside in fantasy football. His likely ceiling outcome in fantasy is the Gabe Davis role, in which he rips off chunk plays and scores deep touchdowns. However, Daniel Jones is no Josh Allen, and Hyatt may be no Gabe Davis.

In 2023 dynasty rookie drafts, he should be a mid-to-late second-round pick. His best value for 2023 fantasy leagues is in Best Ball as a late-round flyer.

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