Giants rookie receiver Jalin Hyatt says he has 'seen a ton of growth' in his game
Giants rookie receiver Jalin Hyatt catches a touchdown pass in a preseason game against the Carolina Panthers/ Credit: AP/John Munson
Much has changed for Giants rookie receiver Jalin Hyatt, not only in the last few months, but also this week.
He now has a new jersey number – 13 – and a new locker, which is between Daniel Jones’ and Sterling Shepard’s. Both the number and the locker were previously connected to David Sills, who was released this week.
Thirteen was famously worn by Odell Beckham Jr., who was the Rookie of the Year in 2014.
When Victor Cruz recently stopped by the Giants facility, he was happy to talk about Hyatt.
“I’m just glad I’m not his age in his receivers room, trying to compete,” Cruz said. “No way. I’d be like: “You take the outside [routes], I’ll take the inside and we don’t have to race. Because you win.”
Cruz laughed.
Hyatt recently said he has “seen a lot of growth” in himself as the NFL season approaches.
“It starts with the guys you go against in practice every day. We have some great competitors here,” Hyatt said. “It starts with your habits; I’ve learned some good habits here, and it starts with being in the film room more with [Daniel Jones] and getting comfortable in the playbook and in this offense, and do whatever they need me to do. So, a ton of growth since day one.”
Cruz said he can relate to all of that.
“There’s not going to be a lot that is going to bother him,” Cruz said. “He’s going to have one goal in mind and that is to be the best football player he can possibly be. And that's scary [for opponents]. That’s the kind of guy you want on your team.”
In terms of preparing for his rookie season, Cruz harkened back to his younger days.
“I was a repetition guy. Jalen’s a repetition guy,” Cruz said. “There used to be times in the huddle that I heard half the play and knew what the rest of the play was. [Hyatt] is probably already at that point. That was the biggest thing with Eli. Can I trust you to know what the heck you are doing? I think Jalin is probably already there.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
