Jalin Hyatt responds to Giants fans upset about No. 1 pick, Saquon Barkley in Super Bowl

The New York Giants had to endure one of their most frustrating seasons in recent history. The Giants front office came across as inept in HBO’s 'Hard Knocks' series, which chronicled the team’s decision to part ways star running back Saquon Barkley.

Then, the team strung together a 10-game losing streak. At the midpoint of that losing streak, the Giants benched — and subsequently waived — quarterback Daniel Jones, who was less than two years into his four-year, $160 million contract.

Meanwhile, Barkley crossed state lines and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, a hated NFC East rival. Behind an adequate offensive line for the first time in his career, Barkley became just the ninth player in NFL history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a single season. He gashed opponents in the playoffs and helped the Eagles punch their ticket to Super Bowl LIX. 

Jalin Hyatt discussed losing No. 1 draft pick, Saquon Barkley's success

Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt joined FanSided’s 'Stacking the Box' podcast ahead of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans and shared his thoughts on New York’s disappointing season, as well as Barkley’s success. 

Despite all of the team’s struggles, Giants fans were clinging onto a small silver lining during the final stretch of the regular season. With just two games left, New York was in the driver’s seat to earn the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Then, much to the dismay of their fans, the Giants picked up a 45-33 victory against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17, and the hope of the top draft pick evaporated. Hyatt understands why the victory wasn’t well-received by fans, but stood by the team’s desire to win. 

“I understand what they're mad at,” Hyatt said. “Obviously you want to have the first or second pick so you can choose who you want. But the problem is, we're in the league. We never go out there [and] try to lose games. We get paid. Not only that, we're all trying to win. Even with our record of [3-14] … that whole week, we were trying to win. We were having to game plan to win. We never go into any game saying, ‘Hey, let's lose this game so we can [draft higher].’ Because that’s just not the right way, it's not the right way. These guys put their lives in it. We put our lives in football. That's all we do, every day.”

While fans may be focused on improving the team in future seasons, players and coaches are focused on retaining their jobs. Sometimes, performances and victories late in the season can make the difference. Coaches also know that no collegiate player is guaranteed to succeed. Many highly-touted prospects have fallen short — particularly at the quarterback position.  

“What's so hard about it is, when you're losing so many games, you don't want to lose again,” Hyatt said. “That feeling is not a good feeling. … It's tough going to that next week. So … we'll never go in to try to lose the game. You know, we're always trying to win, even with draft order and all that, we're still trying to win.”

Although Hyatt has adopted New York’s hatred for the Eagles, the second-year wide receiver doesn’t have any mixed feelings about rooting for his former teammate in the Super Bowl. 

“I'm definitely cheering for him,” Hyatt said. “Only Saquon, though. Just because we play the Eagles twice a year. But I'm really cheering for Saquon, just because of what he [did] for me [during] my rookie year, being that leader for me, helping me when he was here with the Giants, with plays, with just the season. And when he left, obviously, I was sad [and] upset because we built this chemistry, me and him. He leaves and obviously goes to the Eagles. I'm like, ‘Dang.’ But just seeing him being Saquon again and doing what I know he's capable of doing, it's fun to watch. I hate that it’s with the Eagles, but it's fun to watch, and I'll be cheering for him, for sure.”

Jalin Hyatt joined FanSided on behalf of his partnership with World of Hyatt. For a limited time, Jalin Hyatt’s FIND experiences offer a two-night stay to World of Hyatt members in New Orleans and in New York.