April 7, 2026, 7:20 a.m. ET

Who is Ted Hurst? And how is Ted Hurst related to the Washington Commanders?

Well, Hurst is a name I first heard perhaps six weeks ago. I was listening to Jeremy Greene on the Sportsocracy podcast. Greene is a friend of former Washington Redskins tight end Logan Paulsen. Paulsen invited Greene to appear on his Take Command podcast last year, prior to the 2025 NFL Draft, to talk about the Commanders‘ draft choices. This is when I first heard Greene talking about the NFL draft.

Back to this offseason, Greene was telling a story from six weeks ago about how he and Paulsen were standing together during Senior Bowl week. Greene said at some point he turned to Paulsen, and, knowing the Commanders need to draft a receiver this year, he told Paulsen that the Commanders are going to draft Ted Hurst at No. 71.

Yes, you have by now heard of the receivers anticipated to be selected in the first round. Carnell Tate (Ohio State), Makai Lemon (USC), Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State), Denzel Boston (Washington). In addition, analysts are in agreement that other receivers to be selected on Friday night (rounds 2 and 3) are: K.C. Concepcion (Texas A&M), Omar Cooper Jr. (Indiana), Chris Brazzell (Tennessee), Zachariah Branch (Georgia), Ja’Kobi Lane (USC) and others. However, Concepcion and Cooper could go in Round 1.

So why are we only recently learning about Ted Hurst? It’s simple, actually. He played his college ball not at Georgia. He didn’t play at Georgia Tech either. He played his college ball at Georgia State. How many Georgia State games did you watch on television last fall? How many Georgia State games have you ever watched?

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Back to Hurst. Hurst ran a 4.42 40 at the NFL Combine. He is 6-4, 206, and he vertical jumped 36.5, while broad jumping 11’3.” In his senior season at Georgia State, Hurst was first-team All-Sun Belt, leading his team with 71 receptions, 1,004 receiving yards (14.1 per), and 6 receiving TDs in his 12 games played.

If the Commanders draft at No. 7 or trade back a few spots and take whoever they feel is the best player, it very well may not be a receiver. Sonny Styles, Jeremiyah Love, Caleb Downs, Mansoor Delane, Rueben Bain, Jr., are all very much possibilities. Which means No. 71 (Commanders) will most likely go on the clock, and there will still be capable receivers who would be a good selection for the Commanders at that value.

Remember, Terry McLaurin was selected by Washington at No. 76 in 2019.