Giants WR Jalin Hyatt predicts breakout season after disappointing rookie year

Second-year New York Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt predicted earlier this summer he will score the first regular-season touchdown of his NFL career in the club's Week 1 game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 8.

Hyatt then went one step further when he told Jared Schwartz of the New York Post on Thursday he's "very confident" he'll produce a breakout campaign this fall coming off a disappointing rookie season that the Giants finished with a record of 6-11.

"I was confident last year," Hyatt explained. "Obviously some things didn’t go the way we wanted them to go, and that’s alright. New year, new goals, new me. Just ready to execute, ready to go out there and play." 

Things went poorly for New York's offense last season both before and after starting quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a torn ACL in Week 9. Hyatt, a 2023 third-round draft choice, ultimately finished the campaign with just 23 receptions for 373 yards and no touchdowns. 

He and others within the Giants then watched as star running back Saquon Barkley signed with the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles in free agency and as general manager Joe Schoen explored landing Jones' replacement in this year's draft. Schoen instead grabbed LSU Tigers WR Malik Nabers at overall pick No. 6. Nabers is expected to be Jones' No. 1 target during what will be a make-or-break season for the 27-year-old signal-caller. 

For a piece published Friday morning, Dan Duggan of The Athletic noted that Giants head coach Brian Daboll plans to have Jones "air it out" and "push the ball down the field" this season unlike ever before. Such a strategy should give the speedy Hyatt numerous opportunities to torch opposing defenses beginning with the Minnesota game. 

"Coming off a year that we obviously didn’t want to have, we’re gonna learn from our mistakes and try to get better from that," Hyatt added during his comments. "Just trying to keep building, keep getting better, getting more comfortable with the playbook, going out there and executing. That’s my job, and I gotta do that." 

Daboll may feel he has nothing to lose as some have linked former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick with the Giants ahead of the upcoming season. Both Daboll and Jones could need Hyatt to emerge as a game-changing play-maker sooner rather than later to remain with the organization through the winter months.