Dallas Cowboys Draft Profile – WR Jalin Hyatt

The Dallas Cowboys have a need at wide receiver and a need for speed. They need a new scheme as well, but today, we will focus on speed element and explain why Jalin Hyatt is a player Dallas fans need to know.

Hyatt is one of the fastest WRs in the draft and would easily fill that need for the Dallas Cowboys. While Hyatt should be available in the second round, his speed will be the thing that could vault him into a late first-round pick. His routes at the combine will help him, but there are some questions that may keep him out of the first round.

One of the fastest wide receivers in this class, along with high production at Tennessee, the Cowboys could look to add Hyatt to make the top three CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Hyatt.

Jalin Hyatt could be used inside and out, but until he adds a little more size he may primarily be in the slot with some manufactured touches on the boundary. If he can perform on the boundary quickly enough, it could free up using Lamb in different places to create mismatches, but he has to do both.

Jalin Hyatt adds the speed the Dallas Cowboys desperately need at wide receiver, and while he has some work, Hyatt offers a playmaker that can break one at any time.

Jalin Hyatt has the speed, but he also has quick acceleration and good movement with the ball in his hands. He can make someone miss and take off quickly to gain chunk yards. His hands are good, although there were some body catches, but not enough to be overly worried about.

He does a good job working his routes, however, he wasn’t asked to do a ton of complex routes at Tennessee. His twitch does help him set up defensive backs to get over the top and accelerate deep.

Where Hyatt’s questions come from is his size and scheme. At a fairly light 175, he may find some issues at the next level getting off of press consistently. His ability to move will help, but if a defensive back gets his hands on him, it could slow his routes up.

At Tennessee, they ran a very spread scheme that might impact his trying to find room in the NFL. Since a lot of his production came from the slot, asking him to play outside early might be too much for him.

Hyatt fits the needs for speed, but his size and route tree could have him fall out of the first round. The Cowboys do need speed, and if the new scheme uses a lot of at-the-snap motion, then Hyatt could be a good fit.

Should the new scheme be more traditional, like Kellen Moore ran, then he may struggle early on while he figures out how to gain separation. Make no mistake though, Hyatt is a home-run hitter and it will be on Mike McCarthy to set him up to succeed.