Why the Slide?: Ted Hurst

Why the Slide Series

This series was created a number of years ago in response to questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For these articles, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player and/or the reasons other teams passed on that prospect. The positive response to “Why Undrafted” and questions from readers about why prospects were drafted lower than the media’s expectations led us to create the parallel series “Why the Slide?” and “Was it a Reach?”

The trio of series is back this year. Feel free to email me requests at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.

The Senior Bowl has been a great opportunity for small school players to stand out and improve their draft standing while taking on better comnpetition. Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst was one of those prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft, as Hurst created a buzz in Mobile with his combination of size and speed. After his strong post-season performance, many thought Hurst would go in the top 60 of the draft. However, he slid to the third round before getting selected.

Team sources say they had Hurst going in that range on their draft boards, so they did not see a genuine slide for Hurst. They felt he went to an appropriate area and was not a reach or a slider.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended Hurst’s slide, and that was a great landing spot for him. The Bucs have done really well drafting some small school players that were impressive at the Senior Bowl, and Hurst could continue that trend. After future Hall of Famer Mike Evans left in free agency, Hurst could come in and compete immediately to get snaps as a big outside receiver. Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka are in place as the top two receivers, but Hurst could compete immediately to be the third receiver with Jalen McMillen. Hurst gives them more size on the outside and a red zone mismatch weapon. If Hurst develops well, he could be a steal and turn into a quality starter for Tampa Bay.