When the New York Giants traded up and selected Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft, one thing they knew they were getting was speed. Legitimate speed.
“He can roll. I was at that Alabama game. I can’t remember why I came in late, but I was a little bit late. But I was on the field for the first half. I was coming from another game, landed there, and first half I was on the field, and you could really feel his speed. It’s legit 4.3,” general manager Joe Schoen said after drafting Hyatt.
Hyatt was officially clocked at 4.40 in his 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, which was slower than the expected 4.3 or 4.29. Those numbers would have been among the best ever at the combine but his 4.4 was still good for sixth-best among wide receivers.
After the combine, Hyatt revealed that he scaled things back because he was dealing with hamstring tightness. Had he been completely healthy, 4.3 was his realistic goal.
So, where does Hyatt stack up against the NFL’s fastest? If you were to ask his former Tennessee quarterback, Joe Milton, he’d tell you right at the very top.
I don’t think Joe Milton needs to lie about this. What if Hyatt is really faster than tyreek and waddle??? #NYGiants 👀🍿🥤 pic.twitter.com/52ZZHdL70c
— AVERAGE BEAST (@mrchris172) May 23, 2023
“All I can say is (that) Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle aren’t the fastest in the NFL no more,” Milton told Good Morning Football. “That guy is running.”
Hill runs a 4.29 40-yard dash and Waddle runs in the area of 4.3, so it’s clear that Hyatt is in somewhat elite company. Will he actually outpace those speedy players on the field this season? That remains to be seen but the potential is most certainly there.
