After a season with the Cincinnati Bengals, tight end Hayden Hurst is set to return to the NFC South in 2023. The former first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens back in 2018 (picked before Lamar Jackson and Mark Andrews, lest we forget) is signing a three-year pact with the Carolina Panthers.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Hurst hasn’t quite lived up to his draft stock throughout his career. And I’m not about to tell you that this signing is going to catapult him into the “fantasy superstar” stratosphere. But it’s not a terrible move, either for the player or his new team.
2022 Season
Hurst’s 2022 was solid, if unspectacular — a phrase that I’m sure could be used to describe most of his seasons in the NFL, to be honest. Hurst caught 52 of his 67 targets from Joe Burrow for 414 receiving yards, notching two touchdowns along the way. Hurst has only caught more balls for more yards in one season previously. Back in 2020, he went 56-571 for the Falcons.
