Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 8 Target: Is Jalin Hyatt the Giants’ Answer at Receiver? Should You Add Hyatt?
The New York Giants’ passing game hasn’t been very productive this season.
The passing game had its second-best showing of the season against the Washington Commanders in week 7. The team’s best passing game was back in week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals. Those two weeks happen to be Jalin Hyatt’s best two games.
Hyatt is a popular waiver wire target heading into week 8. Let’s take a look at his week 7 showing, his overall season stats, what lies ahead for Hyatt, then determine if you should be targeting Hyatt and finally how high up the waiver wire priority to put him.
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Haytt’s Week 7 Showing
Hyatt was targeted five times in the team’s win over the Commanders. He caught two passes for 75 yards. Hyatt hauled in a 42-yard reception and to go along with a 33-yarder.
Hyatt was the second-most targeted pass catcher for backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Tight end Darren Waller led the team with seven grabs on eight targets, going for 98 yards and a score.
Hyatt had 53 more receiving yards than any other receiver on the team. Either of Hyatt’s catches would have still had him leading the receivers in yardage.
Hyatt’s Overall Stats
Hyatt was the 73rd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He was selected to help the team’s passing game out, but hasn’t done a whole lot yet.
As mentioned earlier, Hyatt did have a strong showing in week 2. He caught two passes for 89 yards in that contest.
Hyatt was held without a catch in weeks 1, 3 and 5. He had two catches for 10 yards in week 4 and tallied three grabs for 21 yards in week 6.
The rookie didn’t play many snaps in the first three games, playing under 40% of the team’s offensive snaps. Hyatt has played 60% of the team’s snaps in three of the past four weeks.
Hyatt’s Fantasy Outlook
Hyatt’s output this season has been hit or miss so far. He’s a classic boom-or-bust player right now.
The thing I like seeing in Hyatt’s numbers is his targets over the past two weeks. He had four targets and then five targets. The downfall to those numbers are that Taylor was the quarterback, not regular starter Daniel Jones.
Jones should be back sooner rather than later, and good receivers can produce with any quarterback, so you’d hope Hyatt can produce at a similar level. Only time will tell though.
The opportunity for Hyatt to emerge in the offense shouldn’t be slowed by any receiver. Waller is the only receiver with any sort of consistent production this season. No other wideout even has 25 catches yet. Only Darius Slayton has more yards than Hyatt, and Slayton has only two games over 35 receiving yards.
Should You Add/Start Hyatt
As I’ve mentioned in a few stories, I am a fan of rookie players on the waiver wire, especially highly-drafted guys. Those players were brought in for a reason, so success in an offense is more sustainable than a player in his third season or later.
New York should continue to work to involve Hyatt every week, so I absolutely think Hyatt should be on your waiver wire lists.
As for where I’d place him on the priority list, there’s definitely some players (Emari Demercado, Dalton Kincaid, Josh Downs) that I like more. Hyatt is also a guy I like over several waiver wire options (Darrell Henderson, D’Onta Foreman) for the long run.
If you are looking for just a one-week guy, then maybe Hyatt falls lower down your priority list. He should bump up a few spots if you are searching for a long-term answer for your fantasy team.
He's not a guy I'd immediately start if you are able to add him. I'd like to see Hyatt produce with Jones at quarterback before feeling confident enough to start him. Hopefully Jones plays this coming week so we get that answer.
Hyatt's inconsistent production shouldn't skyrocket his own percentage, which is just 6%. If he does produce one more solid showing, those numbers should go way up. If you want to beat the rush, now would be the time to try to add him.
