Former NFL Scout Not Sold on Jalin Hyatt

There is no question speed kills and Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt has speed to burn.

That is very alluring, but outside of going deep, I have concerns about his short to intermediate game.

When I first turned on his game film, he struck me as someone who had a history of running track.

Sure enough, he was a track star at Dutch Fork High School in South Carolina.

That’s what he looks like.

Hyatt looks like a track runner getting into his routes (when he is the intended receiver).

We’ll get into that more.

The first clue on Hyatt

He lined up primarily in the slot for the Volunteers.

That is telling.

Is that all his college coaches see him as?

Sometimes they motioned him pre-snap to give him a running start into the route, to gain separation.

Short game

Tennessee threw the ball to Hyatt a lot short and he caught most of them.

However, he wasn’t much when it came to picking up yardage after the catch (YAC).

Hyatt caught a ton of bubble screens, especially against Pitt, but he couldn’t do much after the catch.

He also tended to go out of bounds whether he was forced out or not on short catches.

Intermediate routes

Hyatt looked good at the intermediate route level when he was the intended receiver.

He loves the route when he drifts across the middle from both sides of the field and makes the grab.

The intermediate slant is another favorite.

He can score if he breaks free.

Deep routes

This is where Hyatt is most dangerous.

He can come out of the starting blocks and quickly exploded into a building long-distance speed.

Hyatt showed some real get up and go and he showed he can run right past a defense in the Alabama game.

What happened when the ball wasn’t intended for him?

This was interesting.

When he was not the intended receiver, Hyatt had a whale of a time creating separation short or intermediate.

This made for one less target for the quarterback to work with in these situations.

Hyatt clearly shows he has elite level quickness and flexible hips to make quick cuts at route break-points, when he is the intended receiver.

So what’s going on here?

He throttles it down when he knows he is not the intended receiver.

His routes and playing speed don’t look the same as when he is.

Where does this leave us with Hyatt?

After two domestic seasons of production, it feels like Tennessee is trying to play to Hyatt’s strengths and use him in their future recruiting efforts by padding his stats.

If he was so great, why did he only have 20 catches for 276 yards over eight games in 2020 and 21 grabs for 226 yards over nine games in 2021?

While Barstool Sports, NBC Sports Chicago, CBS, Draftwire, Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Network all have Hyatt mocked into the first-round, I am not seeing it.

I don’t see him as a well-rounded first-round receiver (Jacksonville slot Christian Kirk who has deep speed was selected second-round, 2018, No. 47).

#11 Jalin Hyatt 6-foot-0, 180 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Grade: Second-Round – Fall 2022 Report

Projected by 8.8% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of November 19, 2022 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2022 game film reviewed: Florida, Alabama and Pitt (click to watch games viewed to form this evaluation)

2022 stats (to date): 58 receptions (76 targets and 76% catch rate), 1,116 yards (19.2 avg.), 15 TD, 78-long

Level of competition: High

NFL comparable: Willie Gault, Denzel Mims

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Lanky muscular frame with building deep long distance burning track speed and good hands. Lines up often in the slot. Good initial quickness and has some real get up and go. Dependable hands to pluck the ball. Struggles to pick up additional yardage after the catch short. Best at intermediate to deep range. Inconsistent breakpoints and creating needed separation at the intermediate level. Blows the doors off of a secondary deep. Below average ability to adjust back to the deep ball. Good deep ball tracking. Marginal blocker. Good college receiver who will translate to a good slot role player at the next level.

What to watch for during the 2022 college football season:

1. Consistency running routes
2. Short-route YAC
3. Adjustment to contested deep ball
4. Blocking?

Despite the speed and production, I couldn’t get into him.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.