NFL Draft: Giants select Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz, Tennessee WR Jalin Hyatt on Day 2
Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, left, and Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz, inset. Credit: AP
On the second day of the NFL Draft, the Giants got help on offense.
With the 57th overall pick, they selected John Michael Schmitz, a center from the University of Minnesota.
“I’m still shocked right now,” he said on a conference call with Giants media. He said he was watching the draft at home with family and friends in Homewood, Illinois, and described hearing his name called and becoming a Giant as “amazing.”
Schmitz is an important piece of the puzzle. He’ll be expected to start from Day 1.
General manager Joe Schoen then moved back into the third round in a trade with the Rams to draft Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, who was expected to be taken earlier. The Rams traded the 73rd pick to the Giants for picks 89 and 128.
The 6-foot, 176-pound Hyatt said on a conference call with Giants media that he wants to play at 190 pounds this season. He also does not lack for confidence. As of Friday night, he already had exchanged text messages with Daniel Jones, who asked Hyatt if he is ready to work.
“The Giants got someone who can change the game,” Hyatt said. He was referencing himself, of course. “I really feel his legit speed is 4.3,” Schoen said.
Schoen is having a draft that likely will win rave reviews. He already has addressed two real issues for the Giants by drafting Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks in the first round and the highly regarded Schmitz in the second. Hyatt could be a steal.
Hyatt won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best receiver in 2022 and arguably was the most explosive receiver in the college game last season. He is likely to be the Giants’ most exciting receiver — and biggest mismatch for opponents — since Odell Beckham Jr.
The Giants have four picks on Saturday, when the draft concludes.
Second round, 57th overall
John Michael Schmitz
OL Minnesota
6-3, 301
Sr.
A six-year college player and a three-year starter who could be a day one starter at center for the Giants … A first-team All-America in 2022 … Tough, physical interior brawler who has a wrestling background but also has the athleticism to pull and kick … A true blue-collar background; his father is a carpenter and his mother worked as an electrician in Illinois.
Third round, 73rd overall
Jalin Hyatt
WR Tennessee
6-0, 176
Junior
A unanimous All-American in 2022 and the winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the top receiver in college … Led the Vols with a school-record 15 TD receptions as a junior, including 5 against Alabama … Had 19 TD catches in his college career … Speed is his top asset, he ran a 4.40 40 at the Combine … Was a High School All-American in track (sprints and relays) as a junior in South Carolina.
— Tom Rock
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.
