The New York Giants can thank their lucky stars that they were able to land a phenomenal talent like Malik Nabers in the 2024 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Nabers posted elite receiving numbers, and we know this team has the true WR1 of the future on their hands. Sadly, the rest of the wide receiver group looks bleak, and Jalin Hyatt deserves the blame for much of this.
Joe Schoen and the Giants spent a third-round pick on Hyatt in the 2023 NFL Draft with hopes that he could be a quality starting wide receiver for their team. Hyatt possessed long speed, explosion, and enough size to make him what should have been a weapon down the field for New York.
Unfortunately, his slow start has been anything but what Giants fans wanted to see. As a rookie in 2023, Hyatt showed glimmers of big-play ability. On 23 receptions, the speedy receiver managed 16.2 yards per catch, but failed to score a touchdown. Of course, this suspect production required 40 targets, and Giants' quarterbacks had a passer rating of just 68.0 when looking his way.
But in Year 2 in 2024, things hit rock bottom for Hyatt.
In 16 games last season, Hyatt caught just eight passes on 19 targets for a dismal 3.3 yards per target. His 31.6 percent success rate ranked among the worst in the league among all pass-catchers in 2024. Hyatt also had a high 10.5 percent drop rate, and quarterbacks had a despicable passer rating of just 11.2 when throwing in the direction of the young receiver.
With what we've witnessed as of late, there's very little hope of Hyatt turning things around and becoming the wide receiver this team hoped he could be. The New York Giants could wash their hands of this failed experiment entirely if Wan'Dale Robinson could take a step forward in 2025.
The New York Giants could use Wan'Dale Robinson to replace the underwhelming Jalin Hyatt
One year before taking Jalin Hyatt in the third round, the New York Giants spent a second-round pick on Kentucky standout Wan'Dale Robinson in the 2022 NFL Draft. Robinson had a relatively quiet start to his career, but the game slowed down for him by his second season. And in Year 3, he pulled away from Hyatt completely.
In 2024, these two receivers weren't even in the same stratosphere in terms of target opportunity. There's a reason for that. Robinson showcased the ability to get open and offer a reliable safety valve option for the quarterback, while Hyatt couldn't be trusted.
Where Robinson must improve, however, is his overall efficiency. The shifty receiver turned a whopping 140 targets last year into a mere 699 yards and three touchdowns. While this still wasn't the bottom-dweller efficiency numbers we saw with Hyatt, Robinson's 5.0 yards per target and 42.1 percent success rate proved he left a lot of meat on the bone.
If Robinson can take a step forward this summer, this could prove to be the final nail in the coffin of Hyatt's New York Giants career. These players have different roles on offense (Robinson is a slot receiver and Hyatt works on the outside), but adding one more secure receiving threat alongside Malik Nabers is all the push the Giants need to move on from the 2023 NFL Draft disappointment that is Jalin Hyatt.