Hurst has gone from a quality depth piece to a potential starter for the Buccaneers in a short amount of time this training camp. That's been helped by an early August knee injury to Jalen McMillan and occasional general soreness sidelining Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin a few times. Asking Hurst, who was playing college football at Georgia State last fall, to leapfrog Egbuka or Godwin is mission impossible, but as long as McMillan is sidelined then Hurst could have an opportunity to lock down the No. 3 WR role in the Bucs passing game. Hurst is an early-declare wide receiver with prototypical NFL size and athleticism. He dominated work at Georgia State (32.9% receiving share) and has earned compliments from both quarterback Baker Mayfield and coach Todd Bowles for his rangy size, body control, quality speed and very good hands. As late-round dart throws go, Hurst is worthy in the deepest of PPR leagues for however long McMillan is out. In rookie drafts, he should not be drafted before the middle of Round 2.
Fantasy News
Buccaneers' Ted Hurst: Viewed as true X receiver
Rotowire
Speaking with the media Tuesday, new Bucs OC Zac Robinson said third-round rookie Hurst is viewed as a "true X" receiver in Tampa Bay, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports.
Hurst has the size at 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds and the long-range speed (4.42-second forty) to run the downfield routes vacated by Mike Evans, who is one of this generation's prototypical X receivers. The Bucs used the 84th overall pick on Hurst, who likely would've gone sooner if he'd faced stiffer college competition instead of playing at Georgia State. Hurst drew some Nico Collins comparisons in the pre-draft process. His main competition for playing time in three-wide sets figures to be Jalen McMillan.
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Buccaneers' Ted Hurst: Picked by Tampa Bay
Rotowire
The Buccaneers selected Hurst in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 84th overall.
Hurst probably fell this far out of plain-old bias against small-school players, and if so the Buccaneers should consider themselves lucky that the Georgia State star fell to them in the third round. He's big at 6-foot-4, 206 pounds and has the long-range speed (4.42-second 40) to thrive as a downfield-oriented 'X' receiver. The Buccaneers lost Mike Evans this offseason, but Hurst really does pose a similar dynamic, comparing more closely yet to Nico Collins.
