NFL mock draft 2023: Eagles select Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee
My pick for the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 10 overall in the annual SB Nation NFL writers mock draft was a combination of what I think the team will do and what I would prefer them to do.
I’m taking a different approach with the Birds’ second first-round pick. This selection is more about having fun than it is necessarily trying to be incredibly predictive.
And so with the No. 30 overall selection, the Eagles select ... Jalin Hyatt, wide receiver, Tennessee.
The Eagles’ ‘need’ at this position is nuanced.
On one hand, they have two excellent starters in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. On the other hand, there just isn’t much in the way of reliable depth behind them.
Let’s not sugarcoat this: Quez Watkins failed to prove himself as a trustworthy option last season. He was very detrimental to the team’s chances of winning in three out of their four total losses. And in the one loss where he wasn’t responsible for an obviously awful play, he saw one target and didn’t log a catch.
It doesn’t make sense to have Watkins carrying the 18th-highest cap number on this year’s roster. Especially when he’s on the final year of his contract and can be released or traded to clear $2.743 million with only $42,415 in dead money.
Hyatt has the opportunity to be an upgrade on Watkins. The 21-year-old is coming off a season where he logged 67 receptions for 1,267 yards (18.9 average!) and 15 touchdowns. He’s drawn comparisons to elite deep threats like DeSean Jackson and Will Fuller V.
Scouting report from NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah:
Hyatt is a thin-framed wide receiver with rare speed. At Tennessee over the past two years, he primarily lined up in the slot in Josh Heupel’s spread attack, catching a ton of quick hitters and over-the-top balls. He is at his best when he can stay on the move without having to gear down and work back to the quarterback. He has easy speed, destroying cushions immediately, and he can find another gear with the ball in the air. He tracks the ball naturally over his shoulder and can make plays above the rim. After the catch, he isn’t very shifty or elusive, but he can simply run away from tacklers. He enjoyed his best game this past season in Tennessee’s thrilling win over Alabama, producing one big play after another in a five-touchdown bonanza. Overall, Hyatt is a home run hitter with reliable hands.
Another from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:
Long, slender wideout with deep speed that could force defensive coordinators to alter coverage considerations. Hyatt’s gliding gait disguises explosive acceleration that can lead to easy separation on deep throws. However, he does display inconsistency on contested catches comes. Hyatt is ordinary getting in and out of intermediate breaks and might be best with a limited route tree full of slants, crossers and a series of field-stretching patterns. Hyatt is an instantly credible WR2 with the ability to make a huge impact, but production could be erratic due to the limitations of his game.
The notion that Hyatt’s “production could be erratic” isn’t so much of a concern in Philadelphia. The way I see it, the Eagles are not going to be looking to use a primary resource to add another volume target to this offense. They already have their big three in Brown, Smith, and Dallas Goedert.
And the team clearly had to manage those alpha receiver personalities to some extent last year. The Eagles made a concentrated effort to get Smith involved on the first play of the game in Week 2 after he was held without a catch in Week 1. We saw how Brown was visibly annoyed on the sideline with his lack of action even when the Eagles were blowing out the New York Giants 38 to 7 in the Divisional Round. That was not the only time last year that Brown seemingly was not satisfied with the target distribution.
With that in mind, it’s difficult for me to believe the Eagles are looking to add a receiver like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who’s going to come in and demand the ball on a regular basis. Someone who profiles as a low-volume, high-impact target seems like the more realistic fit. That’s where Hyatt comes in.
For what it’s worth, DraftKings Sportsbook doesn’t see wide receiver as a likely target for the Birds, with +1000 odds on that position being the team’s first drafted player. Offensive lineman (-190), defensive line/EDGE (+190), running back (+700), and cornerback (+900) all have better odds.
Alternatives considered:
Source: Bleeding Green Nation
