Giants still looking for a solution that they traded away just months ago

The New York Giants are putting an immense amount of pressure on rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt to right the wrong of giving up on Kadarius Toney way too prematurely.

Look for Jalin Hyatt to also try to field punts during his rookie season with the New York Giants.

Hyatt was an outstanding player for the Tennessee Volunteers while in college. He took home the Biletnikoff as college football’s best wide receiver. Tennessee emerged as a top-10 program in Josh Heupel’s second season in Knoxville. However, there are reasons Hyatt was not a first-round pick by the G-Men. He played in a gimmicky offense and doesn’t have a well-developed route tree.

Even more pressing, Hyatt will be looked at as the Giants’ solution to the Kadarius Toney debacle.

I understand Toney’s time in New York coincided with a regime change, but how did the Giants not find a way to make it work with him? The Kansas City Chiefs integrated him almost immediately.

New York Giants are looking to replace Kadarius Toney with Jalin Hyatt this year

Look. I trust Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen’s ability to accumulate and develop talent. Hyatt is still very raw coming into the NFL, but his explosive playmaking abilities helped make him a Rocky Top legend. The good news for him is Toney was terrible in a Giants uniform. However, he seems to be tapping into all that made him outstanding when he played for Dan Mullen’s Florida Gators team.

If fielding punts allows for more play-making opportunities for Hyatt as a rookie, then by all means, field some punts, dude! However, he is only going to have sustained success in the NFL if he can refine his limited route tree and potentially expand it. The Tennessee offense may not have required him to do more than run three well, but he will need to get to around six with the Giants.

Ultimately, Hyatt is going into a better situation than most Giants players have in recent years. Not only did they overachieve in Daboll’s first year, but they won a playoff game on the road over the Minnesota Vikings. I don’t know what the Giants’ finite ceiling is with this collective corps, but if Hyatt continues to prove his doubters wrong, then maybe New York can become a final four team?

For the first time in years, the Giants have a certain level of expectations they will need to achieve.