Giants' Jalin Hyatt drops pass, makes TD reception on very next play

Jalin Hyatt has a clear perspective on his role with the Giants.

“Just making plays for the team,” he said. “Whatever the team wants me to do, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Hyatt has been a revelation.

And at 6 feet, 185 pounds, the rookie receiver is a blur with ridiculous speed. That much was on display Friday night in the Giants’ 21-19 preseason win over the Panthers.

In a game in which 15 Giants caught at least one pass, Hyatt led the team with four receptions. His most memorable moment came after his drop of a perfect pass from Tyrod Taylor in the second quarter.

“As a receiver, when the ball touches our hands, we want to catch everything and I believe I can catch any ball that comes to me,” Hyatt said. “And when you have a play like that and I didn’t come up with it, it’s always next-play mentality.”

On the very next play, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka dialed up another pass to Hyatt. This time he got behind safety Eric Rowe and secured the reception.

The result? A 33-yard touchdown.

“That’s what they’ve been teaching me and that’s what I want to do on the next play,” Hyatt said. “I’m just glad that they trust in me.”

Coach Brian Daboll approved of what he saw from Hyatt in those consecutive plays, and he loved that Kafka gave him another chance so quickly.

“You know, there’s going to be bad plays,” Daboll said. “So to kind of encourage that next-play mentality, it’s particularly [helpful] if you can go right back to them if the coverage is what it is and the quarterback is supposed to throw it there.

“You don’t want to force it, but that was planned. He had that drop and then we went right back to him and he made a nice play.”

By Daboll’s standards, that qualifies as effusive praise of a player.

Third-year receiver and second-year Giant Isaiah Hodgins described the receivers’ room as “incredibly improved and competitive.”

“I think we have a great room,” Hodgins said. “We’re always joking about who has the most drops, the most catches and stuff like that. You just have a real competitive room with guys who want to go out and ball every single day.

“I think that makes everyone want to practice that much harder and play that much harder. It just elevates the whole room.”

How does Hyatt fit?

“He asks a lot of questions,” Hodgins said. “He’s very eager to learn, to get better and to elevate his game. That’s what you want to see out of a rookie. As a rookie, you don’t know everything, you haven’t seen everything. He’s done a good job of asking the right questions in meetings and when we have extra time. He’s been doing his part.”

In a short period of time with the Giants, Hyatt has come a long way.

Back in the spring, wide receivers coach Mike Groh dismissed concerns about Hyatt thriving only under a thin route tree.

“I think if we had major concerns that maybe he wouldn’t be here,” Groh said.

There are more recent indications that Groh is thrilled with Hyatt’s progress.

And why shouldn’t he be?

Hyatt has an upside the Giants haven’t had since Odell Beckham Jr. was on the team. Hyatt scored 15 touchdowns for Tennessee last season and won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as college football’s best receiver.

These days, he’s playing at a different level, but also at a familiar one.

Because, as they say, you can’t teach speed. And Hyatt has it.

By Kimberly Jones

kimberly.jones@newsday.comkimjonessports

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.