Bucs Get A “Freak” Small School Receiver
April 24th, 2026
Bucs rookie third-round pick receiver Ted Hurst.
Almost every year, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht taps into Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List.” This year is no different. Licht got a freak receiver from Georgia State.
Feldman’s “Freaks List” is an annual exercise where he picks the top-100 freakish athletes in college football. Licht always seems to find one in the draft. Often they are in the trenches.
Not this time.
The way veteran NFL scribe Bob McGinn of GoLongTD.com described Hurst after consulting NFL scouts, it seems like this Hurst is a raw, raw Mike Evans-like talent.
Ted Hurst, Georgia State (6-4, 207, 4.44)
Said one scout: “Nobody knew about him until he got to the Senior Bowl. He’s probably the fastest riser. He’s unpolished but he’s super explosive and competitive. It’s hard to jam him off the line. He’s got a big (catching) radius and he can run. He’s going to get a lot better. He’s more than just a developmental guy. He’s better than a fourth-rounder.”
Well, the scout was right. Licht got the guy in the third round.
This sounds like to Joe that Licht got tremendous value here.
Georgia State WR Ted Hurst is my #1 offensive prospect from the G5.
– 6’3/195
– goal line fade machine
– crisp route runner with sudden deceleration
– elusive after the catch (17 mtkl forced this year)
– burst to stack press-man
– good not great top gear
– cuts routes off vs.… pic.twitter.com/LvUgymsCJO— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) November 15, 2025
April 24th, 2026 at 10:37 pm
Our new starting X Receiver.
Good pick.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:37 pm
Chris Godwins new mentee
April 24th, 2026 at 10:37 pm
Uh oh this guy might be awesome
April 24th, 2026 at 10:38 pm
Stupid pick. Wheres the corner and iol help?
Hws not gonna play. Now you stunt EE tez and jmacs opportunities.
Raise you hand if you watched ga state?? Another project pick.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:39 pm
Looks like a Evans clone, hope the comparisons don’t end with just the looks
April 24th, 2026 at 10:40 pm
The most notable thing I see in this video is how unbelievably terrible the quarterback is. It is like watching Reggie Ball throw to Calvin Johnson at Georgia tech
April 24th, 2026 at 10:41 pm
Another value pick
Still need a corner but two out of three picks greatt value.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:41 pm
BigZ Says:
“Stupid pick. Wheres the corner”
All of the CBs in this crop are too short.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:41 pm
Here’s our X. We needed a big body, I was starting to get extremely worried about a bunch of 6 foot smurfs running around with no redzone threat. Can’t hurt to have a developmental guy who can snag some jump balls. This pick shows me that Robinson must be really high on Culp. Is he the Pitts in this offense?
April 24th, 2026 at 10:42 pm
He dominated the Senior Bowl
April 24th, 2026 at 10:42 pm
Definitely not a smurf.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:44 pm
Great pick, strong hands and speed! True X receiver
April 24th, 2026 at 10:45 pm
Short??? Benmo 5,10 parrish 5,9. Scott is taller. Scott plays in and outside. Zm and benmo wwre hurt last year. If any 3 get hurt were back to josh hayes. Come on man..
April 24th, 2026 at 10:47 pm
He had a 2nd round grade on him
April 24th, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Dominated the Senior bowl. Was absolutely the only weapon on offense on a terrible team with a terrible quarterback and they still couldn’t cover him.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:50 pm
“He’s unpolished but he’s super explosive and competitive.” So.. they used a 3rd on an unpolished project WR. Get Licht up out of here asap!
April 24th, 2026 at 10:51 pm
I like the player but this seems too high for him. I’d rather go defense. That said, this guy is a fade route terror in the red zone.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:51 pm
He has short arms. We shouldn’t have drafted him. Oh wait, that was Bain.
Never mind. We like this guy.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:51 pm
Kid can run some routes per that highlight tape. Nice speed, big guy, can high point – what’s not to like? We didn’t have anyone on the team with his jump ball size and skills. Good pick.
Great draft so far!
April 24th, 2026 at 10:52 pm
Ok this actually looks like a solid pick
April 24th, 2026 at 10:53 pm
Another terrible reach at least a round early. We got off to a great start but last two picks have been really poor.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:53 pm
Hitting 22 MPH in pads is crazy fast. Even at the NFL, that’s running away from people speed deep.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:54 pm
Now I’d like to see OG and CB. Or… a bruising RB.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:56 pm
Yeah sounds like a good pick, look forward to seeing him in the preseason. Certain that J-Mac is done with playing in the preseason games so this guy can do it. him and tez.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:56 pm
Dan, none of us is qualified to call this a reach. Certainly not you pounding on your phone. How exactly do you know it to reach? Because some online article says so? Did you read a magazine? None of us will know if this is a so-called reach for another couple of years.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:58 pm
He looks like he’s alotta arms and legs, glad to have him, he has incredible athleticism.
April 24th, 2026 at 10:58 pm
He’s got a lot in common with Mike, including the drops. Will be like Evans never left 😀
April 24th, 2026 at 11:02 pm
#TrenchesMatter
April 24th, 2026 at 11:05 pm
Excellent pick. X was the biggest position of need on the team.
April 24th, 2026 at 11:13 pm
I was hoping Hurst would fall to us…..in the next round. Like the player at least. Looks like he’s used to terrible passes coming his way so that should help. Can he play CB?
April 24th, 2026 at 11:35 pm
I see the logic. Seems like everyone bought the camouflage from jl that Evans leaving didnt create a need.
I fell for it too against my initial Instincts
I guess the mind games served a purpose…
Either way it will help some but he wont replace Evans imo.
Still need help at lb. Og db qb3 and special teams. Scary
April 25th, 2026 at 12:10 am
I like it. He reminds me of Evans the way he catches. But now he’s gonna go against big dogs, so lets hope his ability transitions properly.
April 25th, 2026 at 12:39 am
Yeah but how are his hamstrings? Hope he makes it through camp. Go Bucs
April 25th, 2026 at 12:49 am
Thought for sure they would get a CB. Third round seems high. But I’m sure they know more than me.
April 25th, 2026 at 12:59 am
LOL! Is this a joke?
April 25th, 2026 at 1:01 am
It’s a good pick for those wanting someone else you can’t just force a pick for need. He’s prob BPA and hell why not add to the already talented WR room. Chris , Jalen , EE and tez is ok but injuries happen and I’d rather have our new 6-4 receiver starting over tez.
April 25th, 2026 at 1:03 am
At least picking TINY Tez – that guy had production in college. Was Licht drunk when he picked this guy? SMH
So many more pressing needs/issues on this team, and Licht picks THIS????
Am I insane or is Licht insane?
April 25th, 2026 at 1:13 am
Stupid pick, IMO. I’ll happily eat my words and admit I was wrong if this kid works out, but I just can’t see how this guy is a good fit in the NFL, especially where he was drafted. UDFA? Sure, give him a chance.
The Bucs have so many more pressing needs.
April 25th, 2026 at 1:54 am
D-Rok Says:
April 25th, 2026 at 1:03 am
At least picking TINY Tez – that guy had production in college. Was Licht drunk when he picked this guy? SMH
_______________________________________
He lead FBS WRs over the last 2 seasons with 25 receptions of 20+ air yards. 2nd place is Makai Lemon with 19
I guess that’s not production though…
April 25th, 2026 at 3:49 am
^^^^^
yep
April 25th, 2026 at 6:56 am
Good pick. Needs to be developed, but the raw skills are clearly there.
April 25th, 2026 at 6:57 am
Licht & Bowles were talking before the draft about NEEDS in Rnds 2 and later. Our defense sucked last year, and will this year unless some major talent improvements are made. We still NEEDED starter-quality Edge, DT, ILB & CB help as a minimum when the draft started.
o Rnd 1: Bain – Edge – Check (potential starter)
o Rnd 2: Trotter – ILB – Prospect (NFL dot com had him ranked as the #12 ILB after the Combine; his 6.29 grade translates to ‘will eventually become an average starter’; they end with ‘Trotter’s wiring and disruptive qualities make him easy to project as a productive, long-time starter in the middle but a defense might need to protect him in coverage’).
o Rnd 3: Hurst – WR – Prospect (NFL dot com had him ranked as the #17 WR after the Combine; his 6.19 grade translates to ‘good backup with the potential to develop into starter’; they end with ‘The hands are average and he needs to become more assertive on 50/50 balls on all three levels; Hurst appears capable of surviving the jump in competition and projects as a “Z” receiver with quality upside’).
So thus far we’ve drafted 1 potential starter & 2 prospects in our first 3 Rnds. No DT help, no CB help, and the players still available in Rnds 4-7 aren’t typically starter-capable as rookies IMO. Worse yet, we passed on several higher-rated players (like Anthony Hill & Jake Golday) who are considered to be starter-capable as rookies. Oh well, you never know; still have to play the games.
April 25th, 2026 at 7:04 am
holy cow not sure who they were playing appellation state lol but he looks awesome!!! freaking better than evans what a stud psyched! defense can wait!!
April 25th, 2026 at 8:24 am
Well said Defense Rules. If we needed an X, next year is the closest thing Ive seen to Mike, Duce Robinson! Josh Hayes is our 4th CB. No way that can happen. What did Benmo show us? Zyon sucked and was bored.. Our corners could get cooked. But hey we have another receiver. So who sits? 20 mil man? EE, Jmac? Tez? Toooooo many mouths to feed and lots of capital tied up in a position where one guy gets the ball.
April 25th, 2026 at 9:04 am
You can’t be unpolished and a crisp route runner at the same time lol
Live the size speed combo let’s hope he can catch at the next level
April 25th, 2026 at 9:14 am
Somehow this is reminiscent of the Jaylon Darden pick
April 25th, 2026 at 12:29 pm
The Trotter pick baffled me. The fairly tall receiver guy sorta makes sense. We do have bigger needs, but we picked up an extra 5th rounder. Licht has had pretty good luck with those.