There’s a specific sound Adoree’ Jackson can hear every time Jalin Hyatt whizzes by the Giants’ secondary during training camp.
It’s unique to Hyatt and his eye-opening speed.
“How [long] that stride is, everyone else is like tink, tink, tink,” Jackson said after practice on Thursday. “His is tink [pause], tink [pause], tink… It is very impressive how fluid and smooth he is.”
The Giants traded up in the third round of this year’s draft to take the rookie wide receiver in hopes Hyatt’s skill set can help make their offense more explosive and provide a needed downfield threat.
They completed just 28 passes of 20 or more yards all of last season, dead last in the NFL.
Hyatt’s addition has immediately been felt.
He’s enjoyed an extremely strong rookie training camp, and likely delivered his best practice yet Thursday afternoon as he stole the show.
During 7-on-7, Hyatt beat double coverage and hauled in a bomb over the top from Daniel Jones for a roughly 40-yard touchdown, leaving Darnay Holmes and Xavier McKinney in his wake.
Later in a two-minute drill, Hyatt beat rookie Tre Hawkins — who has impressed early at training camp as well — and caught another deep pass over the top from Jones for a touchdown.
That visual — Hyatt running open downfield with defensive backs hopelessly trailing behind him — has quickly become routine.
“When you watch myself on film, sometimes it doesn’t look that fast because I’m more of a strider. … But when you actually get out there and have to guard up and cover me, it’s a whole different speed,” Hyatt said. “I think a lot of people don’t realize that until they’re actually in front [of me] and see it, and then they’re backpedaling.”
Hyatt has mixed between working with the starters and second unit, turning heads regardless of whether he’s catching passes from Jones or Tyrod Taylor.
Though Darius Slayton and free-agent addition Parris Campbell are quick, Hyatt’s speed and downfield acumen provide a dynamic element to the offense that is absent without him, and was sorely lacking last year.
He has said that the team’s GPS has tracked him running 24 mph during practice.
Tyreek Hill owns the record in an actual game at 23.24 mph.
“That was definitely one of the strengths of his coming out of college, something we targeted,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said about Hyatt’s speed. “He’s doing a nice job. He’s doing a nice job in the classroom, studying, prepping, making sure he’s prepared for practice. … Obviously he’s made a couple of plays, he’s just gotta take it day by day.”
Though Hyatt’s speed and vertical threat have been unmissable, it’s his route-running that has perhaps been most significant.
Entering the draft, there were concerns Hyatt was not asked to run a complex route tree at Tennessee and might be somewhat of a one-trick pony — only able to run straight and fast — who might struggle against NFL-caliber defensive backs.
A projected first- or second-round pick, it’s likely the catalyst behind his slide in the draft.
But Hyatt made numerous other catches Thursday that demonstrated his full route tree, including a crossing route over the middle and a comeback route on the right sideline.
Most importantly, he’s handled the press coverage he receives on the outside well, something he rarely experienced as a slot receiver in college.
“Even though I didn’t see a lot of press in college, I always still worked on it,” Hyatt said. “I always wanted to be an outside receiver, even though Tennessee had me in the slot most of the time. Coming up here and being an outside receiver, it makes it easier for me, because I actually like [the defenders] closer, because I can get off the line quicker. I can use my quickness and lateral speed and just get open when I need to.”
During his pro day, Hyatt defiantly told Cowboys receivers coach Robert Prince “I can run routes, too” when the latter suggested his only skill set was speed.
It’s become a microcosm of Hyatt’s entire aura.
“I respected that of him,” Jackson said. “That’s my impression of a guy that’s confident in his game play, and understands that people may say you can do one thing, and it’s just your way of showing you can do it all. I like him, good head on his shoulders, great charisma, I think he’s a great person. … Whatever they said he couldn’t do, I’ve seen him do it.”