Tennessee Titans fans were so blinded by all of the pre-draft connections to Jeremiyah Love that they were caught off guard when the team drafted Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate with the fourth pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
However, he quickly proved the doubters wrong by shining in OTAs and looking like the playmaker that the Titans' front office thought he could be.
After the break, the Titans kicked off training camp, and there were plenty of positive notes flying around, but none of them were about Tate. While he wasn't being denigrated, he wasn't dominating like he was in OTAs, and a lot of that had to do with the starting cornerbacks being in the building versus the backups he was matching up with in OTAs.
Carnell Tate is back on track in Tennessee Titans training camp
It took him about a week of practice, but now Tate is back to the playmaking highlight reel that fans had gotten used to seeing early in the summer.
Most recently, Tate wowed the crowd in attendance with his viral one-handed catch, where he never broke stride and effortlessly scampered for a big play. Even that was quickly overshadowed by his three-touchdown performance in the next practice, where he made impressive catches, including one where a defender was committing pass interference in the end zone.
On paper, drafting Tate always made sense because he was a high-ceiling, high-floor receiver with great length, technique, and hands. That is exactly what this team needed, but because he wasn't being talked about with the same reverence as Marvin Harrison Jr. or Jeremiah Smith, he was labeled as the "other" Ohio State receiver, which caused Titans fans to worry that he was a reach.
Since being drafted, everything suggests that he will be a star in this league and that he and Cam Ward will have an instant connection. In fact, he was recently named as the only rookie starter on the Titans' initial depth chart.
While that doesn't mean he will be the only rookie who is actually starting on opening day, it is a mark of respect and recognition. Tate is already being named a starter over guys like Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike, who would have been the starters on paper at this point in the preseason, even if the plan was always going to be for the rookie to start.
Add us as a preferred source on Google