Buccaneers Draft Profile: WR Jalen Hurd

Here’s the thing about offensive minded coaches - they want weapons on that side of the ball. With the loss of DeSean Jackson and Adam Humphries, the Buccaneers find themselves in need of finding some help at receiver. Yes, they signed Breshad Perriman, but that doesn’t solve all the issues. They will likely look to address receiver at some point in this draft, preferably day three.

Jalen Hurd’s Career

Jalen Hurd started his collegiate career at Tennessee as their starting running back. In three seasons with the Vols, Hurd had 589 carries for 2,635 yards and 20 touchdowns. He would tack on 67 receptions for 462 yards and six touchdowns. He then transferred to Baylor due to his desire to switch to receiver and Tennessee telling him no. With Baylor, he had 69 receptions for 946 yards and four touchdowns.

The year he was forced to sit out may have hurt him a little bit in his transition, but Hurd is an offensive weapon no matter where you line him up.

Pros

At 6’4” and 230 lbs, Hurd is already the prototypical size you want in a receiver. His has natural ability to catch with his hands rather than his body which helped his transition move a little faster.

He has zero fear about making catches in traffic despite knowing a defender is there to blow him up and he will be a dominant jump-ball receiver after a little time.

Tons of raw athletic ability and has the drive to become a very good, very solid contributer with the proper coaching and continued development.

Cons

Raw. Very raw. He’s going to be somewhat of a project so whatever team takes him has to have a strong staff in place and has to consider him a luxury rather than a need.

Hurd still has a ot of work to do as far as his route running ability and expanding his route tree. NFL corners will chew him up and spit him out if he doesn’t get better with his running ability in a hurry.

If he wants to get on the field as a receiver in the NFL, he’s going to have to put a ton of work into run blocking of which he has done little to none. It’s a big part of being a receiver and he hasn’t exactly shown the willingness to do so.

Why The Buccaneers Need Him

Quite frankly, they don’t - which is exactly why he may be drafted. Remember, this guy is going to be a project and need to go somewhere that he’s a luxury and with a solid staff in place to develop him. That’s the Bucs.

Hurd can develop into an insane red zone threat as well as provide yet another mismatch for opposing defenses if he can get his route running down. He has a long way to go, but could begin contributing to this team on a consistent basis by mid-season. They have the speed guy in Perriman, but haven’t replaced the production of Humphries yet. Hurd could easily develop into that player.

Will It Happen?

If Hurd is still sitting around come day three, I can absolutely see this being a target for the Bucs. Looking at addressing needs on days one and two, the Bucs could look at Hurd if he’s there at the start of the fourth. Bring him along, develop him, crisp up those routes, and have a plethora of massive receivers that can make plays from any spot on the field.