WATCH: Jalin Hyatt 40-yard dash overlayed against Julio Jones, Justin Jefferson
Former Tennessee star Jalin Hyatt turned in one of the more impressive 40-yard dash times of the wide receivers at the NFL combine on Saturday. In fact, it went similarly to two fellow former SEC standouts.
The NFL Network overlayed Hyatt’s unofficial 4.41-second run against former LSU star Justin Jefferson and former Alabama wideout Julio Jones. Hyatt beat them both. Jones ran a 4.42 at the 2011 combine and Jefferson notched a 4.43 in 2020.
That could help Hyatt’s stock ahead of April’s draft.
Hyatt burst onto the scene in 2022 and won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best wide receiver. He had 1,267 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns as a key part of Tennessee’s high-powered offense. Rather than running it back on Rocky Top, though, he opted to test the 2023 NFL Draft waters and could find himself as a late first-round or early second-round pick, according to ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.
In fact, CBS Sports projected the Dallas Cowboys to select Hyatt with the No. 27 overall pick in its latest mock draft.
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The 2023 NFL Draft is coming up April 27-29 in Kansas City.
Hendon Hooker fires back at critics thinking he’s a one-progression QB
When asked at the 2023 NFL Combine about how his game and time in the high-flying Tennessee offense will translate to the next level, former Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker had a defiant moment in the sun. And while he won’t be working out at the combine as he recovers from an ACL tear, Hooker certainly owned the podium.
One of the critiques of Hooker is that the offense he played in dictated a lot of one-sided reads — simple, quick decision passing concepts — while coaches orchestrated things. He couldn’t disagree more, and thinks he’s got plenty more to offer an NFL team than just his physical abilities.
“Just control the offense. As you can see on film, a lot of times I make a lot of protection calls. Make a lot of checks at the line. You can see run to pass, pass to run, and then I can make every throw. The way that we run our offense, the wide splits, those are all grown-man throws. I’m not throwing any five-yard outs. I’m throwing big-boy balls,” Hooker said.