Ted Hurst

Jalen McMillan and Sean Tucker miss Week 1, as Tucker deals with a hamstring strain while McMillan recovers from a knee injury and targets a Week 2 return. McMillan logged limited practices before being ruled doubtful.

Rookie Ted Hurst steps into expanded target volume, making him a viable tournament option for daily fantasy contests.

Baker Mayfield was set to be a free agent after the 2026 season but will now remain a Buccaneer through his age 34 season. Baker’s performance last year took a hit as he played through numerous nagging injuries, ranking 22nd with a 93.5 True Passer Rating. He is a year removed from ranking 5th with a 105.4 True Passer Rating, while throwing for 4500 yards and 41 touchdowns.

This is excellent news for Baker Mayfield, as well as the rest of the skill position players on the Buccaneers. Fantasy football managers no longer need to worry about what a post-Mayfield Buccaneers offense might look like. Mayfield was an early-season MVP favorite last year before a list of nagging injuries took their toll. He is ranked PlayerProfiler’s QB22 for redraft rankings but can easily climb the ranks if he returns to form in 2026.

After spending the previous week working off to the side with trainers, Buccaneers receiver Emeka Egbuka returned to practice on Monday, despite a nagging toe injury that limited him to side work at practice the previous week.

His return bodes well for his Week 1 status and gives a major lift to a Tampa Bay offense gearing up for a week 1 showdown with Cincinnati, which boasts one of the slate’s highest over/under totals at 50.5. Fresh off a rookie campaign where he finished sixth in Total Air Yards (1,562) Emeka Egbuka is slated for a primary role in the wake of Mike Evans‘ departure to San Francisco.

Meanwhile, the return of Jalen McMillan muddies the waters a bit for the WR3 role, particularly after training camp standout Ted Hurst capitalized on an extended absence to make a strong case for playing time.

Things seem to be lining up nicely for Tampa Bay’s 2026 3rd Round pick Ted Hurst.  Mike Evans is gone, Emeka Egbuka is dealing with turf toe, Jalen McMillan and Tez Johnson have not been healthy, and word coming out of Tampa Bay is that Hurst has supplanted Johnson on the depth chart and has been turning heads all offseason.  Hurst could also be the new X-WR (Mike Evans replacement) for the Buccaneers.  So it’s not surprising that Hurst is “going to play a role” this season.

With a 95th percentile speed score, 85th percentile burst score, 73rd percentile catch radius, Hurst is big, fast, strong, and, has burst.  He dominated in college with a 27.8% target share and college dominator rating of 33.6%, and could very well wind up doing the same, or more, in the NFL.  Hurst is currently WR 50 on PlayerProfiler’s Dynasty Rankings and he’s also worth rostering in seasonal-redraft leagues, and probably asap in order to beat that possible week 1 waiver wire rush.

~Jason Diaz

Emeka Egbuka has 27 full days to get healthy before Week 1 against Cincinnati. Egbuka earned a 23.6-percent Target Share and a 34.8-percent Air Yards Share as a rookie, establishing immediate command in Tampa Bay’s passing attack. With Mike Evans now in San Francisco, Egbuka enters Year 2 primed to absorb significant vacated volume.

Toe injuries, however, are are notorious efficiency inhibitors. Like high ankle sprains, they prevent players from being able to explosively push off. Egbuka may be active early in the season, but either on a pitch count or less able to separate. The Buccaneers’ future alpha has dropped to WR23 in the best ball rankings on this news.