Jalin Hyatt shares what NFL meetings have been like

Jalin Hyatt is going to have his fair-share of potential landing spots come April’s 2023 NFL Draft.

The former Tennessee star broke out during the 2022 season alongside quarterback Hendon Hooker for the Volunteers. The pair helped lead head coach Josh Heupel’s up-tempo offense to a No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll at one point during the season, and now he’s looking to bring his game to the next level.

Speaking with the media, Hyatt elaborated on what meetings with NFL teams have been like throughout the process, stating that he’s spoken to over half the league.

“I’ve talked to about, I’ve talked to maybe 15 or 20 teams,” explained Hyatt. “Some of them, well really most of them, all the coaches are in there, all the GMs in there, and they know everything about you. Asking you what type of player you are. What you do with this, that. But I feel pretty good.

“I can talk about football 24/7, just coming in based off of Coach Heup (Josh Heupel), Coach [Kelsey] Pope and what they taught me, just in this offense. So it was easy. It’s easy for these interview processes. Especially being around guys like Hook (Hendon Hooker) and them, so it’s easy.”

Moreover, it’s easy to see why so many teams are interesting in speaking with Hyatt, as he was able to haul in 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns on 67 receptions while guiding the Vols to a 10-win season in 2022. Additionally, Hyatt added some individual hardware to his cabinet as well, winning the Biletnikoff Award, which honors the best wide receiver in college football each season.

As for where Hyatt could potentially land, ESPN analyst and former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum released his mock draft and slotted the wide receiver at No. 25 overall to the New York Giants. That would pair Hyatt with QB Daniel Jones and put him in a receving corps featuring the likes of Isaiah Hodgins, Wan’Dale Robinson, David Sills V and Kalil Pimpleton.

Curiously, Tannenbaum also Hooker going No. 5 overall to the Seattle Seahawks, who’s coming off a torn ACL. Hooker put together a strong year for the Vols in 2022, but hasn’t appeared in many mock drafts largely due to his injury.

The 2023 NFL Draft is set to take place from Thursday, April 27 through Saturday, April 29 in Kansas City, Missouri as Jalin Hyatt looks to hear his name called on day one. If not, he won’t have to wait long to hear it on day two.

On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this article.