After wearing No. 84 during the preseason, Jalin Hyatt was looking for a new number as enters his first NFL regular season. Hyatt’s number in college (11) was retired by the team in honor of Phil Simms, so Hyatt chose the No. 13, which was the same number Odell Beckham Jr. donned during his notable tenure with New York.
“There’s no story behind it,” Hyatt said of wearing Beckham’s old number, via the team’s website. “I just want to start my own legacy with it and do my best for the Giants in number 13.”
Things tend to become a story, however, when it involves Beckham, who has been one of the NFL’s most well-known players since his one-handed catch against the Cowboys in 2014. Beckham gave the story legs when he took to X to publicly support Hyatt’s decision to rock 13 for Big Blue.
“I was surprised he knew who I was,” Hyatt said of Beckham, who met Hyatt’s acquaintance during training sessions in Arizona this past offseason. “It shows a lot of love that he has for the Giants. A lot of respect for him.
“What he did here – had a great career with the Giants and kind of took over. I was a fan when I was young watching him. High school, college, and now being here, but just with the jersey number, it’s just one of those things I wanted to start my own legacy. I like low numbers, and if I had to choose a number it’d be 11, but it’s retired here, so can’t go with that one, so 13 would be the next option.”
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