Third-round pick Ted Hurst brings rare size and athleticism to Tampa Bay, aiming to fill the massive void left by Mike Evans in Zac Robinson’s revamped offense.
Replacing a legend is never easy, but one rookie is doing his best to usher in a new era in Tampa Bay.
After 12 years and rewriting the Buccaneers’ record books, future Hall of Fame wide receiver Mike Evans has moved on to San Francisco—opening up the opportunity for third-round pick Ted Hurst to become a major contributor in his rookie season.
Despite Georgia State winning just one game last season and playing in the Sun Belt Conference, Hurst topped 1,000 yards receiving on 71 catches and six touchdowns in 12 games for the Panthers.
Taken at No. 84 overall, Hurst is considered the classic profile of an “X” receiver at 6-foot-4, 206 pounds and is making an impression on his coaches so far in the offseason.
"He's a very smart guy," head coach Todd Bowles said during OTAs. "We're throwing a lot at him. He's very smart—we'll see when it calms down. Usually it takes a day or two every time a new install goes in, but he doesn't make the same mistake twice."
Like Evans, the soon-to-be 22-year-old’s vertical of more than 36 inches and body control will make Hurst a likely red zone target for quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Unlike Evans, who had more than 1,000 yards receiving in his first 11 seasons and scored more than 10 touchdowns six different seasons, Hurst will be fighting for targets. Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, Cade Otton, Bucky Irving and newcomer Kenny Gainwell have proven to be capable pass catchers.
"It's competition everywhere, but every year you're going to draft somebody and somebody's room is going to have competition in it," Bowles said. "The way our receivers went down last year, you need a ton of them. So we're going to need everybody in that room going forward. Hopefully nobody goes down but to draft a guy like Hurst to go with the other athletes we have in there, that just enhances everybody else's competition."
Despite the Buccaneers’ target share being split among so many different pass catchers, new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has shown he’s not afraid to spread the ball around. In his two seasons in Atlanta, Robinson had five pass catchers with more than 70 targets in 2024 and four pass catchers with more than 70 targets in 2025. Last season tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson each had more than 100 targets.
Tampa Bay, on the other hand, had just one pass catcher with more than 100 targets (Egbuka) last season.
With a strong finish to OTAs and Tampa Bay’s mandatory mini camp, Hurst might carve out a definite role in the Buccaneer's offense in 2026.
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