Rookie receiver Jalin Hyatt certainly didn’t make the impact he hoped to in his first NFL game.
He dropped his only target in the Giants’ team-wide 40-0 stinker of a Week 1 loss to the Cowboys.
Hyatt, the team’s third-round pick in April, had shown an ability to get downfield during training camp and the preseason, but he was on the field for only 25 of the Giants’ 70 offensive snaps Sunday night.
“It was definitely a wake-up call. We didn’t do what we wanted to do,” Hyatt told The Post after practice Friday ahead of a road game against the Cardinals on Sunday. “For me, I’m just trying to get into a rhythm, but I’m disappointed in my performance.
“I felt like I can do a lot of things better.”
Hyatt’s drop over the middle came in the second quarter.
“it was a little behind me, but I have to come up with it,” he said. “It hit my hands.”
With quarterback Daniel Jones under constant pressure, the rookie out of Tennessee was far from the only Giants receiver to post an ineffectual stat line.
Isaiah Hodgins had one reception for 24 yards, and he fumbled the ball for a turnover.
Newly signed Parris Campbell also had one catch, for a measly 2-yard gain.
Darius Slayton totaled only 15 yards on three receptions.
And Sterling Shepard, in his first game back from ACL surgery last October, was shut out.
“We have to make a lot of improvement from Week 1 to Week 2,” receivers coach Mike Groh said. “I don’t think I need to elaborate any further beyond that. You have a game like that, you gotta get better. We all have to do better, every group, I think everyone recognizes that.”
The Giants are close to getting another receiver who is rebounding from ACL surgery back in the coming games.
Wan’Dale Robinson was inactive for the opener and has been listed as doubtful for Sunday.
Robinson, who had 23 receptions for 227 yards and one touchdown in six games as a rookie before getting injured Nov. 20 against the Lions, said he “definitely” feels “close” to returning.
But Giants head coach Brian Daboll could decide to give him a few more days before activating him for their Thursday night game next week at San Francisco.
“I’ve been feeling really well for the past couple of weeks, ever since they took me off the PUP list [in August]. I’ve been making some good progress every day,” Robinson told The Post. “I think there’s a chance [for Sunday], but I’ll talk to Dabes and the training staff and try to figure out what the best plan is for myself and for the team overall.”
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