Just prior to the 2023 NFL draft, wide receiver Jalin Hyatt went viral for his exchange with Dallas Cowboys wide receivers coach Robert Prince.
In the clip, Prince repeatedly implies that Hyatt is a speed-only receiver who struggles to run a full route tree. The Tennessee star, of course, disagreed.
Following the draft, where he was selected in the third round by the New York Giants, anonymous NFL executives and head coaches continued to pile on. They told The Athletic that Hyatt was “arrogant,” “squirrelly,” and “naïve.”
Despite all of the outside criticism and doubt, those inside the Giants’ building have seen something totally different from Hyatt. Their reality doesn’t match the perception.
Hyatt has proven himself to be very coachable, personable and professional. Perhaps more importantly, he’s shown an ability to run various routes. And he improves every single day.
On Wednesday, just prior to the team’s final minicamp practice, wide receivers coach Mike Groh praised Hyatt’s strong route running ability and noted that the rookie maximizes every single opportunity to improve.
As far as his speed, Groh acknowledged that as well.
“Oh, yeah. He’s fast,” Groh told reporters.
Hyatt had seen his workload increase every day during the team’s offseason program and that’s likely to continue when they return for training camp in late July.
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Story originally appeared on Giants Wire