The Atlanta Falcons are looking closely at the receiver prospects available in the 2026 NFL Draft, and it feels inevitable that they'll draft one at some point in this draft. It may not come at 48 or 79, but Ian Cunningham and Kevin Stefanski know better than to not address one of the team's biggest needs.
The options are limitless, but the best one could come from right out of their backyard--and I'm not talking about Zachariah Branch. Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst is a player who has received a lot of buzz across the last couple of weeks, and could be the perfect complement for Drake London.
Thankfully, this new regime sees the vision with Hurst as well. NFL Draft guru Ryan Fowler reported that the Falcons have a top 30 visit with him on the horizon. And if he's available when Atlanta is on the clock with the 79th pick, there will be a big chunk of the fanbase rooting for him to be the choice.
Atlanta Falcons fans should be celebrating if they are able to draft Ted Hurst
Not only is Hurst the first known receiver the Dirty Birds are conducting a 30 visit with, he's a Georgia native who spent time with both Georgia State and Valdosta State. He worked his way up from being a zero-star recruit to a player who could be drafted as early as the third round of the upcoming draft.
The 21-year-old is nearly 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds, and his 4.42 second 40-yard dash helped him record a staggering 9.90 RAS. He's a great vertical threat, and has a 60.4% career contested catch rate, but the only reason he's flown under the radar is because he didn't play for a big-name school.
Hurst logged 961 yards and a school-record nine touchdowns in 2024, but got even better in 2025. En route to a first-team All-Sun Belt, Hurst caught 71 passes for 1,004 yards and six touchdowns. Clearly he has the track record to be a stud in the NFL, and had he suited up at like Ohio State, he'd be talked about with the top wideouts in this draft. But at least this way, he'll net the Falcons more value.
Signing Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheus are not enough to feel content with the state of this WR room behind London, but between Dotson and Hurst, the upside of the depth pieces would be tremendously higher than it's been, so keeping him in the Peach State would be great for the Falcons.
I know fans tend to know less about small-school players, but remember the name Ted Hurst--because there's a real shot he's burning defenses and playing alongside London with the Falcons in a few months.