Overshadowed by high-profile defensive rookies, the young receiver has convinced the organization he is ready to see the field right away.
Being part of a draft class that included Rueben Bain Jr. and Josiah Trotter may have made it a bit easy for Ted Hurst to be overlooked.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers couldn't believe a potential star like Bain fell all the way to the 15th overall pick. The Bucs were so excited that they turned down a significant trade offer to move down only two spots. General manager Jason Licht refused, not wanting to risk losing Bain to another team.
In round two, Tampa nabbed Trotter, the ultra-talented linebacker from Missouri. Though he didn't attract nearly the same attention and hype as Bain earlier in the offseason, Trotter has looked terrific since training camp started and has been generating his own fair share of excitement. Bucs legend Ronde Barber recently stated that the organization always believed Trotter would be an immediate starter and potentially the defense's best player, even including Bain.
With those two defensive building blocks drafted ahead of him, the selection of Hurst in the third round completely fell under the radar. Though he had an excellent combination of speed and size, most believed that coming from a small school like Georgia State meant the talented wide receiver would need time to adapt to the giant jump in competition in the NFL.
Besides, the Bucs already had a loaded group of WRs. Even after losing Mike Evans in free agency, Tampa still had Emeka Egbuka, last year's first-round pick, and veteran Chris Godwin Jr., who had been part of a terrific duo with Evans for years.
Besides those two, there was also Jalen McMillan, who looked great down the stretch as a rookie in 2024 before a neck injury robbed him of most of his second season.
Tez Johnson, a 2025 seventh-round pick, also flashed plenty of ability as a rookie after injuries to Evans, Godwin, and McMillan opened up playing time.
Those four receivers made it easy for the team to assume Hurst was a great pick for the future, but he wouldn't really make much of an impact in his first season.
Hurst's emergence over the offseason, which has drawn comparisons to Evans, has made GM Licht acknowledge how much he underestimated the rookie, and now he believes Hurst will have a larger role than expected this season.
Speaking to reporters, Licht admits that he was wrong about Hurst, and the rookie should see the field s lot more than expected this year.
Consistently Improved During Offseason
Licht assumed that Hurst could have learned behind Tampa's other WRs as he developed.
Now that Hurst has consistently improved during the offseason, Licht sees him making a lot of plays and realizes how much he has overlooked the rookie.
“After we drafted him, I personally thought, okay, this is a great situation for him to be behind these guys and learn, may not make a big impact for us this year but, one for the future. But I think he's proven to us throughout camp, even OTAs, practice every day that he's been very, very steady. And I think it's kind of evolved into okay, we can use him this year and he's going to play a role.”
Final Thoughts
Hurst looks like he can contribute right away. Licht has been taking notice.
He and Egbuka are the future at receiver for the Bucs.
But that doesn't mean Hurst can't be part of the present as well.
