The New York Giants seem like they’re headed toward a parting of ways with wide receiver Jalin Hyatt just 3 years after they traded up to select him in the NFL Draft.
Giants head coach John Harbaugh announced on Thursday that Hyatt won’t play in the preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday afternoon.
“Jalin Hyatt will be ruled out, as far as an injury,” Harbaugh said on Thursday.
Giants Seem Destined to Release Jalin Hyatt
ESPN’s 53-man roster prediction on the eve of training camp sees the Giants keep 6 wide receivers and leaves Hyatt out in the cold.
In ESPN’s roster model, the Giants keep Malik Nabers, Darnell Mooney, Darius Slayton, Calvin Austin III, Malachi Fields, and Odell Beckham Jr.
Hyatt was a 3rd-round pick (No. 73 overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft after winning the 2022 Biletnikoff Award at Tennessee.
Through his 1st 3 seasons, Hyatt has just 36 receptions for 470 yards and has yet to score a touchdown, with career highs of 23 receptions for 373 yards as a rookie.
Hyatt is in the final season of a 4-year, $5.62 million rookie contract.
Big Blue View’s Ed Valentine put Hyatt on his list of “underperforming” Giants draft picks down to their last chance in 2026, putting his chances of making the roster at just 5 percent.
“Hyatt had a quiet spring,” Valentine wrote on July 9. “He made a couple of nice plays in one practice open to the media, but otherwise rarely saw the ball head in his direction when the media was in attendance. The Giants have 14 wide receivers on their 90-man roster. Six or seven will make the 53-man roster to begin the season. If you ranked those receivers 1-14 on a depth chart, I think Hyatt would be No. 13, with only Xavier Gipson below him. Hyatt does not contribute to coverage teams. Players like Dalen Cambre, Ryan Miller, and Beaux Collins do. That might give those players a chance to sneak onto the roster or land on the practice squad. Hyatt’s time with the Giants appears to be nearing an end.”
Giants Went After WRs in Free Agency, NFL Draft
The Giants have signed a gaggle of wide receivers in free agency, led by the return of Odell Beckham Jr.
ESPN’s Jordan Ranaan singled out OBJ as 1 of his 3 players to watch as the Giants report to training camp on Tuesday.
“It’s a big summer for the former Giants legend,” Ranaan wrote. “He will have to earn his spot on the roster after being signed this spring with the Giants short-handed at the position. Beckham didn’t play last season and has nine catches for 55 yards in the past two years combined. He’ll be competing with the likes of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Braxton Berrios for roster spots. Malik Nabers’ health will also factor into the equation.”
The Giants added a wide receiver in the NFL Draft as well, taking Notre Dame’s Malachi Fields in the 3rd round (No. 74 overall).
Fields, 6-foot-5 and 218 pounds, could be critical to the Giants’ success and questions about his speed after he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine seem overblown.
Fields was a 2-time All-ACC selection at Virginia in 2023 and 2024 before transferring to Notre Dame for his final college season.
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