Jalin Hyatt assures fans there’s still more to see and see in him and his game.
A lot more.
“There’s a lot I haven’t shown yet,” Hyatt told The Post after the Giants’ practice on Thursday. “I’m very confident. [of a breakout second season]”I had a lot of confidence last year. Obviously, some things didn’t go my way, but that’s OK. New year, new goals, new me. I’m ready to execute. I’m ready to go out there and play.”
They’re betting on it to help the Giants’ offense emerge from its ineptitude.
The team drafted the speedy receiver in the third round last year, but despite a strong training camp that garnered attention, Hyatt struggled through a quiet rookie season.
The 22-year-old had just 23 catches for 373 yards and, remarkably, zero touchdowns.
And nearly all of those accomplishments came in three games: 89 yards against the Cardinals in Week 2, 75 yards against the Commanders in Week 7 and 109 yards against the Patriots in Week 12.
Other than that, Hyatt never topped 25 yards.
“There were a lot of issues,” Hyatt said. “Really. [offense] I was having problems. Now I’m back and I’m confident. [Daniel Jones] There’s obviously a lot of new guys behind us and it’s been fun to see everyone working together.
“I really feel like this is definitely going to be a good year for us.”
Hyatt is perhaps the biggest X-factor in what is widely considered the best receiver unit Jones has coached in his career.
Rookie Malik Neighbors, the Giants’ sixth draft pick, is expected and needs to be a star.
Darius Slayton, entering his sixth season with the Giants, is a familiar presence.
He’s recorded 700-800 yards receiving in four of his five seasons in the league.
Wan’Dale Robinson is still looking to make a big leap, but he is limited by his size and role in the slot.
But Hyatt is the biggest wild card: He’s already shown the skill to dominate a game, and his ability to turn that into consistent production could be a big factor in how far this offense goes.
“Experience helps,” Daboll said of Hyatt on Thursday, “so lining up in the right spot, getting to the right spot and making plays quickly. He’s made some big leaps and now we’re going to take that into the season.”
Hyatt’s speed makes him a dangerous threat downfield, an area where the Giants were bad last year and where they thought Hyatt would be most useful.
Giants quarterbacks averaged 9.9 yards per completion last year, fifth-lowest in the NFL.
But despite a limited sample size, Hyatt has proven he can be the solution to that problem.
He averaged 16.2 yards per catch last year, a team high.
And Hyatt’s struggles last year weren’t entirely his fault, of course. Three quarterbacks played for the Giants last year, none of whom had much success.
The awful offensive line in front of the quarterback rarely gave receivers enough time to develop long routes, the type Hyatt primarily ran.
Perhaps with Jones healthy and the offensive line playing more consistently, Hyatt will have more opportunities to impact the game and hurt opposing defenses when he’s on the field.
“If we can hit the ball big, we usually have a chance to score,” Daboll said, “and we’ve been aggressive in doing that throughout OTAs and camp — pushing the ball deep down the field. … We definitely need to be a good threat on the vertical part of the field.”
Hyatt maintained that while there wasn’t a huge change in results, his understanding of the playbook and his responsibilities “definitely grew” around the middle of last season.
Now that he understands and realizes how much longer the NFL season is compared to college, Hyatt believes he’s taking better care of his body than he did last year.
He called that the “biggest difference” this year and what he learned most as a rookie. Additionally, playing more physical and eliminating mental mistakes was also a focus for him.
And he can’t wait to show everyone.
“I’m very excited,” Hyatt said. “Coming off a year that obviously we didn’t want, we’re going to try to learn from our mistakes and get better from there. Just keep building, keep improving, get familiar with the playbook and try to go out there and execute. That’s my job and I have to do it.”
