A strong first practice in Mobile put Georgia State WR Ted Hurst on the radar as the Vikings eye receiver depth this offseason.
I made the trip from Des Moines, IA, to Mobile, AL, this week for the Senior Bowl. The game is on Saturday, but Tuesday was the first day of open practices.
One name that I had kept hearing about as I prepared for my trip was Ted Hurst. The 6-foot-3, 207-pound wide receiver played the last two seasons at Georgia State, staying under the radar. But his size, speed, and production made him one of the more interesting players to monitor this week.
The Minnesota Vikings could be in the market for a receiver this offseason. Jalen Nailor will be a free agent, and Jordan Addison's continued off-field issues raise concerns about his own future in Minnesota.
Hurst made a good first impression in Tuesday's practice. He made a spectacular one-handed grab for a touchdown in 1-on-1 drills, displaying not only great hands but also an excellent release off the line and speed to separate.
We don't have an official 40-yard dash time for Hurst yet, as the NFL Combine is still a month away. But Zebra Technologies provided us with tracking data for Senior Bowl participants, and Hurst was one of the top performers.
Hurst's top speed on Tuesday was 20.33 miles per hour, the second-fastest tracked time of the night. He had 37 "explosive efforts", 10th-highest among all receivers and 15th-highest among all players.
For context, only LSU's Barrion Brown (20.35) ran faster on Tuesday. But he measured in at just under 5-foot-11, 176 pounds at the Senior Bowl. Hurst's length adds another dimension to his size.
The Senior Bowl is an ideal setting for a small-school prospect like Hurst because it puts him against top-tier competition. He dominated inferior competition in college, catching 127 passes for 1,960 yards and 15 touchdowns the past two years.
That wasn't just from a high volume of targets, either. Per Pro Football Focus (PFF), Hurst averaged 2.09 yards per route run in 2024 and improved that to 2.42 yards in 2025. That was tied for 32nd among all FBS receivers with at least 78 targets and was higher than Indiana's Elijah Sarratt (2.39) and Missouri's Kevin Coleman, Jr. (2.23).
But Hurst's highlight-reel one-handed catch showcased all of his ability in a competitive environment. He torched Arkansas cornerback Julian Neal, who is ranked No. 75 on the 2026 Consensus Big Board. That would likely put Neal as a Day 2 pick in April's draft.
As it stands today, Hurst is ranked No. 115 on the Consensus Big Board. Stacking more practices like Tuesday can only elevate him. And we haven't even gotten to the Combine, yet, where a player with his combination of height, weight, and speed can show themselves off.
Fortunately, Hurst has plenty of time to continue making a name for himself with two more Senior Bowl practices ahead of Saturday's game. If he has more days like this in the pre-draft process, he won't fly under the radar when the draft arrives in April and could become a viable option for the Vikings.