The Tampa Bay Buccaneers added to their wide receiver room in Round 3 with Ted Hurst, and the reasoning behind the pick points directly to how this offense is expected to function moving forward.
Speaking after the selection, assistant general manager Rob McCartney explained, "I don't know that we're gonna have a true X. You look at some of the history with this type of offense that we've got with [OC] Zac [Robinson] -- I don't know if it's got like a pure X."
That comment reflects the influence of coordinator Zac Robinson’s system, rooted in a Sean McVay-style structure that emphasizes distribution and versatility over isolating a single dominant receiver.
At 6-foot-3 and just under 200 pounds, he brings size but was not used as a static boundary target at Georgia State. In 2025, he saw 124 targets and turned that into 71 receptions for 999 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 14.1 yards per catch. The year prior, he recorded 961 yards and nine touchdowns on 56 catches, demonstrating consistent production downfield while in college.
His usage also suggests how Tampa Bay may want to deploy him. Hurst logged over 400 receiving snaps in 2025 and averaged 2.42 yards per route run with a 12.6-yard average depth of target in college, which shows he was consistently working downfield rather than operating strictly underneath.
Instead of asking Hurst to replace a specific role, the Buccaneers are adding another receiver who can move around the formation and create matchups, which aligns with how this offense is designed to operate.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs assistant GM explains their selection of Ted Hurst