The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' season-opening 33-27 defeat on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals sure left a lot for everyone to unpack

There was quarterback Baker Mayfield's sloppy, three-fumble performance, and Rueben Bain Jr.'s underwhelming start to his career.

And it will be a long time before anyone forgets Josiah Trotter's historic debut, where he became the first player in NFL history to record a pick-six and a sack in his first-ever game.

Though it was easy for it to get lost in the shuffle, Sunday's game against the Bengals also gave us our first look at third-round rookie wide receiver Ted Hurst.

Hurst was thrust into a larger role with fellow WR Jalen McMillan inactive due to injury. He played about 75% of the offensive snaps. His three receptions (on three targets) tied him with tight end Cade Otten for fourth-most on the team, behind running back Bucky Irving (7) and WRs Emeka Egbuka (5) and Chris Godwin Jr. (4). The 36 receiving yards were also fourth, after the same trio.

While those numbers may not jump off the page, it was still a successful debut for the 22-year-old.

For starters, his 43 snaps show the amount of trust he has earned from his coaching staff, and he greatly surpassed the more experienced Tez and Kameron Johnson (13 and 5). Hurst brings a great combination of size and speed, but going from Georgia State to the NFL is a huge step up in competition.

He proved that the lights were not too bright, showcasing his ability to create separation and to come down with contested catches, traits that saw the rookie earning comparisons to legendary Bucs receiver Mike Evans in training camp. 

Head coach Todd Bowles was also pleased with Hurst's showing. During his Monday session with the media, Bowles credited Hurst for playing fast and being able to get open.

"I thought Ted played fast. He played very fast. He played hard, and when they threw to him, he was open, so they got him the ball. I think he'll be fine."

When pushed if Hurst's successes were the result of the Bucs running the two-minute offense, Bowles was blunt.

"No, he played fast. I mean, the coverage dictates the targets, and, you know, the coverage was there [when] the targets didn't go that way, but he played fast the entire game."

While Bowles was happy with Hurst's overall performance, you can tell that he believes the youngster has plenty of room to grow.

Hurst had a much larger role in the offense than anyone expected when training camp began. His strong play during camp and Tampa's first preseason games started to raise expectations for the upcoming season.

General manager Jason Licht admitted he underestimated Hurst's potential to immediately become an impact player, saying he believed the WR was a great pick for the future and would get to learn behind a talented receiving group before being counted on to produce.

It is unclear how long McMillan will be out. Once he returns, Hurst is likely to have his playing time reduced. However, his future with the Bucs looks bright, and now that he has a game of experience under his belt, he should become much more relaxed as the NFL game begins to slow down for him.

He gets his next chance at making an impact on Sunday when the Bucs look to rebound at home against the Cleveland Browns.