Giants insider says former Tennessee WR Jalin Hyatt 'clashed' with coaching staff and upper management in New York in 2024

Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jalin Hyatt has had a slow start to his NFL career. 

Hyatt, a third round selection by the New York Giants in the 2023 NFL Draft, showed promise as a rookie, catching 23 passes for 373 yards in his debut season. 

The former Vol, however, barely saw the field for the Giants in 2024, catching just eight passes for 62 yards on only 19 targets. 

Hyatt was talked up by the Giants' coaching staff ahead of the 2024 season, so why wasn't he utilized more? 

According to SNY Giants insider Connor Hughes it was partially because Hyatt "mentally checked out at points last season after clashing with the coaching staff and upper management". 

From SNY: A lot of this falls on Hyatt, though. He mentally checked out at points last season after clashing with the coaching staff and upper management. There was no reason he should have been as uninvolved as he was at points last season. He’s a player with a skillset that the Giants should be able to use. Some players simply can’t get out of the doghouse. That was the problem last year.

If Hyatt shows up with a re-commitment to the playbook, practice and games, and improves his route running, then yes, he should be more productive with Wilson than he was with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito.

The start of Hyatt's NFL career kind of mirrors the start of his career at Tennessee. 

Hyatt was moderately productive as a true freshman for the Vols in 2020 before seeing his production take a slight dip in 2021. 

In 2022, Hyatt was the best wide receiver in college football, winning the Biletnikoff Award after catching 67 passes for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Hyatt's big jump in 2022 came after he admitted that his mind wasn't in the right place in 2021. 

"As a competitor, if you aren't out there with your guys every snap it eats at you," said Hyatt during spring practice before the 2022 season. "I struggled with it last year....I looked back on last season on what I did wrong. We got back to the planning board and I've tried to be consistent in being here (in the facility)."

The former Vol has been in this situation before (and he was able to overcome it before). What Hyatt went through at Tennessee should help him get past his slow start in the NFL (the elite skills are still there for Hyatt). 

Hyatt's struggles last season, by the way, aren't entirely on him. The Giants' quarterback situation was a mess the last two seasons, which certainly impacted the way Hyatt was able to be utilized in Brian Daboll's offense. 

With a new and improved quarterback room in New York (Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Jaxson Dart), and a better mindset, there's no reason that Hyatt can't deliver on his potential in 2025 -- as long as he gets an opportunity.