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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft Ted Hurst with the 84th pick of the NFL Draft in the third round. The Buccaneers were slated to pick at pick 77 but they traded back with the Green Bay Packers to obtain pick 84 and 160. The Packers selected Chris McClellan with pick 77.

Hurst was a two year starter at Georgia State during his junior and senior season. Before transferring to Georgia State, he played for the Division II school Valdosta State. During his two years of Division I ball, Hurst produced 1965 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Hurst is also an elite athlete. He received a RAS Score of 9.9, ranking as the 40th most athletic wide receiver since 1987. He’s just above 6’3” and he weighs between 206 and 207 lbs. He has great speed, running a 4.42 40 yard dash, 2.59 20 yard split, and a 1.55 10 yard split. His explosion drills were also very impressive with a 36.5” vertical jump and a 11’3” broad jump.

Ted Hurst was a Good Value in Round Three

GettyTed Hurst consistently received round three grades among draft analysts.

NFL Draft analysts agree with the round three selection of Hurst based on his pre draft evaluation. PFF ranked him as the 97th best prospect in the draft. He received a 82.1 receiving grade. While he had a poor drop rate of 9%, he did well against man coverage (71.7 grade) and had a great contested catch rate of 59.3%.

PFF said, “Hurst is a long, lean outside ‘X’ receiver who brings a solid baseline of blocking and contested-catch ability to the role. He has pro-level vertical speed, but it takes some time to build up. He projects as a Day 3 receiver with the chance to be a contributing player.”

Dan Brugler of the Athletic ranked Hurst as the 13th best wide receiver in the class and gave him a round three grade in his guide. He acknowledged that Hurst has some room to grow in the NFL, but also praises his ability to become a potential starter.

Brugler said, “Hurst faces a steep learning curve versus NFL press and coverage traffic, but his physical traits and ball-tracking skills — especially as a downfield target — are exciting. He is a developmental X/Z receiver with down-the-road starting upside.”

Current State of the Buccaneers Wide Receiver Room

While wide receiver was not seen as an immediate need with the depth options the team currently has, the departure of Mike Evans to the San Francisco 49ers left a spot open in the wide receiver room.

However, the team has more than enough options at receiver with Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan, and Tez Johnson all with experience having decent roles with the Buccaneers. That being said, Godwin and McMillan had plenty of injury concerns last season, so more depth is not a bad thing at all obviously.

It is difficult to project how much playing time Hurst will receive in year one with all that the Bucs have currently, but in due time maybe he will develop into a starter with the organization.