Immediately after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Ted Hurst in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, fans were hyped for the future. There are so many small school wide receiver prospects in history with insane athletic profiles and collegiate production who simply got passed over because people were not paying attention to their schools, and there is a sense among the fan base that Hurst is headed in that direction.
Throughout offseson practices, not one player, not even fellow rookie Rueben Bain Jr. with his first round pedigree, generated as much total hype as Hurst. And now that training camp has started and Emeka Egbuka is hurt as the No. 2 wide receiver, the hype train on Hurst has left the station. People are even talking about going for him as a dark horse sleeper in fantasy football.
Hurst was hyped and probably drafted so highly by Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht because of his athleticism. Licht loves banking on players with amazing athletic traits that score highly in percentiles based on size, speed, and other combine related metrics, but there is so much more to Hurst's game already.
Ted Hurst is ready to contribute to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense
What Ted Hurst is showing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this preseason, including in the Week 1 opener against the New York Jets on his two catches, is beyond athleticisim. Hurst has amazing hands, and he is very secure at the catch point.
Hurst, even though he came from a small school in Georgia State, already knows the fine art of handling certain catching opportunities. He knows when to let the ball fall into his hands while faiding away, and he knows how to be aggressive and attack the ball at the catch point to beat the defensive back.
When it comes to securing tough catches in traffic or while going down, Hurst is already showing that he can be reliable enough to be a top three wide receiver for Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers offense in the 2026 NFL season.
That is not easy to do, least of all as a rookie, but Hurst has a lot of intelligence and composure, both when running routes and especially when the ball is in the air. It's not enough in the NFL to be big and fast, which Hurst 100 percent is. You need to also be able to convert those opportunities by being smart, and Hurst has it.
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