Player
Hayden Hurst
TE (retired)
Career counting stats establish the baseline that makes every contextual comparison meaningful — Hurst was functional, never impactful.
1st-round pick (#25, 2018). 7-year career, 82 regular-season games, 203 catches, 1,975 yards, 15 TDs.
MilestoneCareer regular-season totals (reg-season only)
| Stat | Total |
|---|---|
| Games | 82 |
| Receptions | 203 |
| Receiving Yards | 1,975 |
| Receiving TDs | 15 |
| Y/R | 9.73 |
Why it matters. Career counting stats establish the baseline that makes every contextual comparison meaningful — Hurst was functional, never impactful.
2020 ATL (56-571-6) was his only elite season. His other 6 seasons averaged just 24 catches and 234 yards.
TrendHurst year-by-year receiving (reg-season)
| Year | Tm | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | BAL | 13 | 163 | 1 |
| 2019 | BAL | 30 | 349 | 2 |
| 2020 | ATL | 56 | 571 | 6 |
| 2021 | ATL | 26 | 221 | 3 |
| 2022 | CIN | 52 | 414 | 2 |
| 2023 | CAR | 18 | 184 | 1 |
| 2024 | LAC | 8 | 73 | 0 |
Receiving yards by year (reg-season)
| Season | Yards |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 163 |
| 2019 | 349 |
| 2020 | 571 |
| 2021 | 221 |
| 2022 | 414 |
| 2023 | 184 |
| 2024 | 73 |
Why it matters. The career shape — one outlier season surrounded by roster-filler production — defines the boom-bust TE archetype that scouts still debate.
BAL era (behind Mark Andrews): 43-512-3. Post-BAL with the ball to himself: 160-1,463-12. The change of scenery was real.
SplitHurst career splits (reg-season)
| Stop | Years | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL | 2018-2019 | 25 | 43 | 512 | 3 |
| ATL | 2020-2021 | 28 | 82 | 792 | 9 |
| CIN | 2022 | 13 | 52 | 414 | 2 |
| CAR | 2023 | 9 | 18 | 184 | 1 |
| LAC | 2024 | 7 | 8 | 73 | 0 |
Why it matters. The splits prove the shadow effect was real: Hurst's catch rate nearly doubled when Andrews wasn't ahead of him on the depth chart.
Same team, same 2018 draft: Hurst went #25 (1st round), Andrews went #86 (3rd round). Andrews: 484-5,952-56. Hurst: 203-1,975-15.
Rare2018 BAL draft TE comparison (reg-season)
| Player | Pick | Career Rec | Career Yds | Career TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayden Hurst | #25 (Rd 1) | 203 | 1,975 | 15 |
| Mark Andrews | #86 (Rd 3) | 484 | 5,952 | 56 |
Why it matters. The Ravens evaluated both players simultaneously at the same position; that Andrews was the obvious choice by Year 2 makes Hurst's draft slot one of the cleaner round-value misevaluations in recent history.
Hurst's 2020 ATL season (56-571-6) was 93% above his career catch average — but still only ranked 14th among all TEs that year.
ComparisonHurst 2020: peak vs career avg/yr (reg-season)
| Stat | 2020 | Career avg/yr | % above avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receptions | 56 | 29 | +93% |
| Yards | 571 | 282 | +102% |
| TDs | 6 | 2.1 | +186% |
2020 TE receiving yard leaders (reg-season)
| Rank | Player | Yds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travis Kelce | 1,416 |
| 2 | Darren Waller | 1,196 |
| 5 | Mark Andrews | 701 |
| 14 | Hayden Hurst | 571 |
Why it matters. A player who doubles his own average and still ranks 14th at his position illustrates how low the baseline was — not how good the peak was.
Hurst played professional baseball (MiLB pitcher, PIT system) before switching to football at South Carolina. He was 24 at draft day — 2-3 years older than typical 1st-round skill-position picks.
AnomalyHurst pre-NFL profile
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Pre-college career | MiLB pitcher (PIT system) |
| College | South Carolina |
| Birth date | Aug 24, 1993 |
| 2018 draft date | Apr 26, 2018 (age 24) |
| Draft pick | #25 (1st rd, 2018) |
Why it matters. Age at draft is a proxy for developmental runway; an older 1st-round pick carries more risk because the room for growth is compressed.
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