Wide Receiver By Commitee
May 3rd, 2026
Could Jalen McMillan be that guy?
As Ryan Wilson of CBS said when looking at the 2026 Bucs, you don’t replace a guy like Mike Evans.
What successful teams do, Wilson said, is find workarounds so Evans isn’t missed that much. Or, in a perfect world, Evans isn’t missed.
Now Wilson, speaking on CBS HQ, wasn’t trying to say the Bucs won’t miss Evans. But Wilson does believe the Bucs have their wide receiving room stocked well enough to replace most of Evans’ production.
“How do the Buccaneers replace Mike Evans?” Wilson asked. “The short answer is, you don’t, but they have some dudes.
“They drafted Emeka Egbuka last year in the first round. You see Ted Hurst. There was not a lot of buzz about Ted Hurst in the fall, because he played at Georgia State. [But], then he went in the Senior Bowl and just took over.
“[Hurst] is 6-3, he can run sub-4.5. He’s a huge catch radius guy. In terms of getting on the bus, he looks like Mike Evans, but he’s faster.”
Wilson seemed to think if each of the Bucs’ receivers pick up their games just a little from last year, and Hurst is able to contribute, the Bucs may be able to get by with Evans playing on the west coast.
“Obviously, [Hurst is] not going to be a future Hall of Famer, because we haven’t seen him play yet,” Wilson said. “[The Bucs] also have Jalen McMillan, who played at a high level [before]. They re-signed Cade Otton.
“So I think it’s going to be a wide receiver by committee approach.”
That’s probably the smartest way to play without Evans. Joe’s sure if a team should want its slot receiver to be the go-to guy and Chris Godwin loves playing slot.
Is Emeka Egbuka ready to be a No. 1? First, Joe would like to know why he vanished in the final two months of the season before anointing him as the No. 1 receiver. Asking Hurst to be a No. 1 receiver is way premature.
But you know what, Joe wouldn’t be shocked if Jalen McMillen rose up and became Baker Mayfield’s go-to guy. He’s shown flashes that he could.
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:07 am
Let’s face it. In the last 12 years, Evans has been the best Red Zone target in the NFL. You can’t replace his height combined with his 84-inch arm length.
He was open because of his unique wingspan.
No one including Hurst is replacing that. But a good coach should be able to get this set of wide receivers and running backs to score in the Red Zone, especially if the OL becomes a strength again like it has been before last year.
I just fear there will be some games where us fans will miss that Evans HOF skill set.
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:11 am
Hurst was measured at 6’4″ at the combine.
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:20 am
Obviously, [Hurst is] not going to be a future Hall of Famer, because we haven’t seen him play yet,” Wilson said.
what kind of idiot thinks this way.
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:22 am
Ryan Wilson of CBS gonna tell us about our wide receiver room? And fail to mention Chris Godwin? Nah. Don’t think so. Anybody sleeping on Chris Godwin is about to get woke up. With a jolt. Chris Godwin is healthy and the leader of that position group. 100 catches. 1200 yards. 10 touchdowns. Or something really close to that. Oh yeah. JMac, Emeka, Hurst and Tez are studs.
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:32 am
Preach, Kenton!!
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:43 am
Kenton, I hope you are correct on Godwin being a 10 TD guy.
But even with ME gone, I’d take the under on that.
Godwin is our best WR between the 20’s. Just not a red zone guy even when he plays every game of the season and is healthy.
He averages a TD every 3 games of his NFL career, so it is quite a bump up to get to 10.
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:44 am
We have a pretty good UDFA WR
Eric Rivers from Georgia Tech
He’s smaller, 5’11 180 lbs, but he runs a 4.35
Can return punts, can play in kickoff/ punt team.
He was a productive WR in college
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:45 am
— Jimmy
“Obviously, [Hurst is] not going to be a future Hall of Famer, because we haven’t seen him play yet,” Wilson said.
What kind of idiot thinks this way?”
Based on using his logic, I can confidently assert that Ryan Wilson won’t become a Hall of Fame sports journalist. I just haven’t seen him play yet.
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:53 am
The problem is J Mac hasn’t played a full healthy season going back to his college days and Godwin is always hurt too. That crushes their depth if and or when that occurs.
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:56 am
Call him whatever number you’d want in terms of the depth chart, but Hurst is our Starting X receiver immediately, playing Evans’ former position.
I call that WR1, but tomato tomăto