It is the cardinal sin of professional football.
You can drop a pass. You can miss a block. You can even line up offsides once in a blue moon. But you simply cannot stop running your route while the ball is in the air. That is exactly what Giants‘ Jalin Hyatt did in Week 11, and the result wasn’t just a Jameis Winston interception that cost the team the game; it was likely the final nail in the coffin for Hyatt’s career in blue.
While Winston took the heat publicly, the film tells the real story. The quarterback threw to a spot, trusting his receiver to be there. Hyatt hesitated. He drifted. He stopped. And in that split second of indecision, the New York Giants realized they could no longer afford to wait on potential.
Jalin Hyatt, Giants
Credit: Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Practice Squad Savior
In a twist that feels almost scripted, the answer to the Giants’ receiver woes didn’t come from a high draft pick or a blockbuster trade. It came from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad.
Isaiah Hodgins has been back in the building for two weeks, and he has already done what Hyatt has failed to do in three seasons. He established trust. Hodgins isn’t running a 4.3 forty. He isn’t going to blow the top off a defense. What he does is far more valuable to a quarterback trying to survive a crumbling pocket. He gets open, and he catches the football.
Just look at the immediate impact Hodgins has made in essentially two games of work:
Seven receptions
99 receiving yards
One touchdown
Zero game-losing mental errors
He has effectively buried Hyatt on the depth chart. Hodgins stepped in as a primary starter on the outside and looked like he belonged. He runs sharp routes. He uses his big frame to shield defenders. He provides a safety blanket that this offense has been desperate for all year.
NFL: New York Giants at Detroit Lions
Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
Speed Kills (Your Own Offense)
The tragedy of Jalin Hyatt is that the physical tools are undeniable. You can teach route running, but you can’t teach the kind of speed the 24-year-old possesses. However, speed is useless if you don’t know where you are going.
Interim head coach Mike Kafka gave the former third-round pick a golden opportunity to prove himself against starter reps. The result was two catches for 18 yards and that disastrous interception. It is becoming painfully clear that the game is moving too fast for him between the ears.
The Giants cannot give playing time to guys who don’t know their responsibilities. It is unfair to the other 52 guys in the locker room busting their tails. With Darius Slayton returning to the lineup this week to provide veteran stability and Hodgins locking down the other spot, the window of opportunity for Hyatt has slammed shut.
Cutting Losses is a Skill
General Managers hate admitting they blew a draft pick. It hurts the ego. It looks bad on the résumé. But keeping Hyatt on the active roster right now feels more like an exercise in saving face than a football decision.
There is no developmental upside left to chase here. We have seen the ceiling, and it involves a lot of jogging and confusion. The New York Giants are trying to establish a culture of accountability under Kafka. You cannot preach accountability while trotting out a receiver who quits on routes in crucial moments.
Hodgins has been a breath of fresh air because he is a professional. He clocks in, does his job, and moves the chains. Hyatt might find a second wind with another franchise down the road, but his time in New York is effectively over. The offseason priorities are shifting, and carrying a speedster who can’t get on the field is a luxury this team does not have.