While Malik Nabers is the unquestionable headliner for the New York Giants offense this season, the rest of the wide receiver corps has gotten off to a quiet start.
Through two games, Nabers has 15 catches for 193 yards and one touchdown. Only one other Giants wideout has found the end zone, as Wan’Dale Robinson (eight catches, 62 yards, one score) did so in Week 2.
After Nabers and Robinson, Darius Slayton checks in at No. 3 in the Giants’ passing game, with six catches for 59 yards. However, one name that’s missing from the early-season stats is second-year pass-catcher Jalin Hyatt. The former third-round pick in 2023 has seen just one target so far this season, and ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported Hyatt said during practice that if the Giants weren’t going to use him, they should trade him.
But following Hyatt’s nearly silent start to the year, he’s denying ever having discussed the Giants trading him, as the AP’s Tom Canavan reported.
“I didn’t say that. I don’t know where that came from, but that’s false,” Hyatt said. “I love being here. Joe (Schoen), (Brian Daboll), I got so much respect for trading up for me and getting me. So, whatever that rumor was, it’s not true at all.”
Whatever frustration Hyatt is feeling is understandable. The 22-year-old showed glimpses of legitimate upside during his rookie season, finishing with 23 catches for 373 yards. However, after playing only 16 offensive snaps (23%) in Week 1, the arrow is pointing in the wrong direction, as he was on the field for 12 snaps in Week 2 (21%).
For comparison’s sake, Slayton played 72 and 88% of the snaps in the two weeks, while Robinson logged 68 and 63%. Hyatt has clearly fallen behind the trio of Nabers, Slayton and Robinson, and as things stand, the chances of him seeing an expanded workload appear very unlikely. But with the Giants sitting at 0-2 currently and the passing game averaging just 170.5 yards per game, Big Blue needs an injection of life through the air.
Maybe Hyatt can provide a much-needed spark, but if the early snap counts are any indication, the Giants seem to know which wideouts they want on the field, and Hyatt is the odd man out.