Jalin Hyatt is staying at wide receiver, but the New York Giants have already unveiled their newest plans for the 2023 fourth-round pick.
Rather than continue to return punts in his contract year, Hyatt is now serving as a gunner. For the unfamiliar, that means he’ll be the one sprinting downfield trying to prevent a long return.
According to the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy, Hyatt impressed throughout Wednesday’s practice. He reportedly drew a penalty on a special teams play, and the fourth-year receiver also caught a touchdown pass from Jameis Winston.
Jalin Hyatt is doing everything in his power to make the New York Giants’ roster
Credit to the 24-year-old Hyatt for being willing to take on a new role, and it’s encouraging that John Harbaugh didn’t simply keep the status quo. Had that been the case, Hyatt’s chances of making the 53-man roster would have remained fairly low, assuming that the Giants intend to keep six receivers rather than seven.
That’s not to say that Hyatt now has a better opportunity of earning a roster spot than Odell Beckham Jr. or JuJu Smith-Schuster does, at least not when we’re only a week into training camp. But Hyatt could use the preseason to impress another team and land either a practice squad spot or a chance on their 53-man roster.
Barring injuries, the odds are still heavily stacked against Hyatt making the 53-man roster. Malik Nabers is expected to play in Week 1, and there are no signs that the Giants have considered a Darius Slayton trade. Given Beckham’s familiarity with John Harbaugh and his strong start to camp, he appears to be the overwhelming favorite to be that sixth receiver.
But if Hyatt spending most of his time as a gunner increases his trade value, then that’s terrific news for both him and the front office. As argued previously, the Giants should try to trade Hyatt this summer. We also recently floated the idea of the Giants sending Hyatt to the Browns in exchange for receiver Cedric Tillman, his former Tennessee teammate who went one spot after Hyatt in the 2023 draft.
Don’t sleep on the value of gunners. Longtime Patriots special teams standout Matthew Slater has been floated as a potential Hall of Famer, and not solely because of his three championship rings. Slater made five All-Pro teams, including two first-team nods, and made 10 Pro Bowls over his 18 seasons.
Who needs to be the next Randy Moss when you could instead be the next Matthew Slater?
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