Jalin Hyatt etched himself forever into Tennessee Volunteers folklore with the huge 5 touchdown game against Alabama, while setting single-season school records for receiving touchdowns in 2022 as well. A big play threat that can stretch the field with his speed, Hyatt is nuanced in the few routes that he ran at Tennessee – overall a very limited route tree – but stepped up and showed the ability to be a #1 receiver when Cedric Tillman was down. 

The upside with Hyatt is mostly in his route running ability. Hyatt ran a very limited route tree in the Tennessee offense, failing to allow him to develop nuances for many routes. He will have that to learn at the next level, which shouldn’t be an issue because he is nuanced already in the right areas. 

Jalin Hyatt is pretty, pretty quick. pic.twitter.com/JSux4jW3Va

— Nick Penticoff (@NickPenticoff) March 21, 2023

Got through his career with the normal nicks and bruises. 

Jalin Hyatt’s scouting report

Athletic Ability (25)

Speed/Athleticism: 15

• Speed (6.5/7) – More quick than fast. Has long strides, doesn’t look like he’s moving as fast as he is. Tested well.
• Change of Direction (3/4) – Change of direction is pretty good. Gets through breaks decently well. 
• Body Control (3/4) – Solid body control. Works well to the ball. 

Acceleration/Burst: 10 

• Acceleration (4/5) – Acceleration looks really good. Can fly past defenders and has several gears he can use. 
• Explosiveness (4.5/5) – Explosive receiver. Moves very well, very flawless. 

Receiver Technique (25)

Route Running: 15 

• Footwork (5.5/7) – Very solid route runner. Very good feet throughout his rep.  Good at the top of his route with changing direction. 
• Route Tree (2.5/5) – Ran an extremely limited route tree at Tennessee. 
• Nuances (1.5/3) – Not particularly nuanced because of the lack of versatility in the routes that he ran. 

Release/Flexibility: 10

• Release Ability (3/5) – Release wasn’t ever contested in college because of the nature of the Tennessee offense. Very difficult to get a jam on him. Often was the motion prospect. Has a lot of work. 
• Sideline Work (4/5) – Shows the ability to work the sideline and get two feet inbounds. 

Catch Ability (25)

Catch Ability: 15

• Natural Catch Ability (7.5/10) – Good hands. Solid catch radius. Routinely makes fingertip catches. Attacks the catch point typically. 
• Consistency (4/5) – Relatively consistent as a receiver. Went from a 12.5% drop rate in 2021 to 6.9% in 2022. 

Contested Catch Ability: 10 

• Vertical Ability (4/5) – Has some solid vertical ability. I don’t think he’s going to win many contested catches up high but he can get up when he needs to. 
• Catch Through Contact (3/5) – Struggled to catch through contact at times, especially when going deep. Did not have many opportunities to catch through contact. 

Schematic Versatility (20)

Deep Threat/RAC: 10 

• Deep Threat Ability (4.5/5) – Incredible deep threat ability. Excellent speed and tracks the ball extremely well. 
• Run After Catch Ability (3.5/5) – Angle breaker, but won’t break a lot of tackles. 

Run Blocking: 10

• Strength (4/5) – Decent run blocker. Gets a good hold and is strong enough to lock down the perimeter. 
• Consistency (3.5/5) – Might be a little too grabby. 

Overall: (80.5) – 1st/2nd Round