Ted Hurst Rise Gets Explained
September 10th, 2026
The Bucs’ new No. 17, rookie receiver Ted Hurst.
Joe absolutely cannot wait to see the talent that is Bucs rookie receiver Ted Hurst unleashed on the National Football League.
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht has been very successful drafting receivers. There’s been a miss or two, but Licht has been spectacular.
Now comes Hurst out of Georgia State. He’s 6-4 with strong hands, a big catch radius and good speed, and yards-after-catch (YAC) ability.
Hurst has the confidence of Todd Bowles, who detailed why to Bucs legend Rondé Barber.
“He learned the playbook and you can see him starting playing faster,” Bowles said of Hurst. “And when he first got here, obviously, he was thinking so much it looked like he was playing half-speed. Even the first two days of training camp, but when the receivers went down and gave him a chance to play real-time and learn it, he got the playbook down; you started to see the talent come out on him.
“And one day in practice, he was just coming down with everything and you could see the confidence growing. Then you could see the routes that he really started running, and you could see it grow from there. That was outstanding.”
Bowles’ comments came via The Rondé Barber Show.
Joe is a big Hurst fan. While he showed little in preseason (he didn’t play much), he was a steady practice peformer and Joe can attest to how lethal Hurst looked in joint practice against the Jets. When he practiced against Jacksonville, it was the same result. Non-Bucs media collective wondered aloud, ‘Who the heck is this guy?”
Joe is not putting a ton of expectations on Hurst, but he seems very capable of delivering strong rookie seasons like Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan did the past two years, respectively.
September 10th, 2026 at 12:48 pm
I’m pretty sure we get a heaping helping of him Sunday.
September 10th, 2026 at 12:48 pm
If Hurst can have a solid year, nice and steady and consistent, this offense will be tough to defend. (As always, without a rash of injuries).
September 10th, 2026 at 12:52 pm
excited to see him and K.Scott
GO BUCS!!!!
September 10th, 2026 at 1:14 pm
If he can start off at #4 or so and learn from Chris, Jalen, and Egbigboo… I am excited to see what the ceiling is for Teddy.
September 10th, 2026 at 1:34 pm
Whoever plays in the slot for us the most this year will prob have the most catches and stats (because of less-talented personnel covering them and not getting double teamed etc).
But other than our slot guy, I think Hurst will be our go-to guy on the outside and our best performer out there by far this year and beyond.
He should be a very good Evans replacement.
September 10th, 2026 at 2:04 pm
I like the concept of whoever’s playing our X can run they go route all out then come off the field for a little break. In goes Hurst, minimal drop off.
September 10th, 2026 at 2:50 pm
Just need so X receptions in the red zone, maybe a couple of targets for key first downs…it’s all gravy if we get more!
September 10th, 2026 at 2:53 pm
Him smoking the Bucs secondary still doesn’t convince me. The Bucs secondary gets roasted on the regular it seems like.
I’ll wait and see before I get excited.
September 10th, 2026 at 3:00 pm
Yes let’s hope he gas a great rookie season.
September 10th, 2026 at 3:30 pm
lets hope he does not punch another player or let the ball get easily knocked out in the end zone.
September 10th, 2026 at 3:31 pm
I believe they plan on having McMillan as the X, at least initially. He’s the best receiver w have at beating press man coverage.
September 10th, 2026 at 3:34 pm
Super excited to see in a real game.
September 10th, 2026 at 4:05 pm
Ted going to be great! All the new rookies are going to be great this year it’s going to be a big step forward this year for the 2027 new coach and more new players Go bucs!
September 10th, 2026 at 4:49 pm
J Mac hasn’t been practicing. Hurst is the starting X receiver. Kid hasn’t missed a practice, very impressive at his position. Bucs have never been shy about starting a rookie receiver. I’m expecting big things right away.
September 10th, 2026 at 5:10 pm
You need a lot of depth. Receivers get hammered.
September 10th, 2026 at 5:31 pm
i dont remember last year talk of emeka slowly learning the playbook. im hoping to get surprised but he sounds more like a work in project
September 10th, 2026 at 5:39 pm
The guy has two catches in the preseason, and you write about him like he’s the second coming of Jerry Rice, Give us all a break.
September 10th, 2026 at 7:22 pm
I remember hearing a lot of the same about CG in his rookie year, looking forward to watching this young rookie develop
September 10th, 2026 at 9:01 pm
If Chris Godwing, Emeka Egbuka and Ted Hurst all get get 1,000 yards and 7+ TDs…we can trade Godwin next year for a first rounder 🙂
September 10th, 2026 at 9:07 pm
We still have a terrible QB, don’t expect big things from none of our WR’s!
September 10th, 2026 at 9:09 pm
Bucsfan951 Says:
“Him smoking the Bucs secondary still doesn’t convince me. The Bucs secondary gets roasted on the regular it seems like.”
Morrison has shown improvement this off season. He still heeds another year of growth, but he’s trending upward so far.
That said, he may benefit from the increased pass rush this year. Between him Parrish, Zyon McCollum, Scott, Garnes…and Antoine Winfield Jr….the secendary has good potential.
September 10th, 2026 at 9:10 pm
HeavyE, you’re wrong.
September 10th, 2026 at 9:35 pm
Joe, J Mac will be the x to start. Hurst will be the x after this year. I don’t know if Godwin is guaranteed next year but J Mac will be the slot guy next year.
September 11th, 2026 at 12:53 am
One of the top 3 will miss games he will get plenty of playing time