Tampa Bay adds receiver Ted Hurst, a technician with crisp footwork and a knack for separation. Can he elevate the Buccaneers' dynamic young corps?
With the 84th pick in the 2026 NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Ted Hurst, a receiver from Georgia State.
The Panthers star caught 127 passes over his last two season at Georgia State, collecting 961 receiving yards in 2024 and 1,004 in 2025.
So what are the Bucs getting?
In our Buccaneers draft profile on Hurst, Jeremy Ballreich described him as a “technician.”
“Patient off the line, deceptive in his pacing, and sharp at the top of his stems,” Ballreich wrote. “He understands how to manipulate leverage, set up defenders, and create separation without wasted motion. His footwork is crisp, and he consistently wins with timing and precision.”
As for Hurst’s areas for improvement, Ballreich described him as “a good athlete, not a great one.”
“He may not consistently separate against long, explosive NFL corners without continued refinement,” Ballreich wrote. “His long‑speed is adequate but not threatening, which limits his ability to win purely on vertical routes. He also needs to expand his release package against press coverage. While he’s shown flashes, he’ll face more physical corners at the next level and must diversify his counters to avoid being disrupted early in routes.”
Georgia State doesn’t send a lot of people to the NFL, but the Bucs now have two former Panthers.
After the 2025 draft, the Bucs signed offensive tackle Ben Chukwuma as an un-drafted free agent, and he ended up starting two games as a rookie.
Playing in the Sun Belt Conference didn't always pit Hurst against top-notch competition, but he got his chance at the Senior Bowl in this past February.
Hurst impressed at the annual NFL prospect showcase held in Mobile, Alabama, so much so that after the Bucs drafted him, ESPN’s Booger McFarland said, "If you ask any DB at the Senior Bowl, they've heard of Ted Hurst.”
This is the third receiver the Buccaneers have drafted in the past two seasons.
Last year, the Bucs drafted Emeka Egbuka, who turned into an Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist, in the first round, and then took Tez Johnson, a steal in the seventh round.
Since then, the Bucs lost their all-time leading receiver, Mike Evans, who signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers in March, ending a 12-year run in Tampa.
Overall, the Bucs added depth to a position where they already have promising young talent in Egbuka, Johnson and Jalen McMillan, plus veteran Chris Godwin
In drafting Hurst, the Bucs made sure their receivers room would be good to go to kick off the post-Evans era.
Draft grade: A-