There weren't many positive takeaways from the Tennessee Titans' lifeless 12-7 Week 3 loss to the New York Giants. A rare bright spot was rookie wide receiver Carnell Tate. Taking an in-depth look into Tate's performance highlights the type of receiver he can become for this offense if everything else gets on track.
The fourth overall selection registered six receptions for 58 yards. The raw statistics don't scream breakout, but the advanced analytics show more. Tate was consistently open, and it led to season-high production.
Nonetheless, the tape and advanced analytics prove Tate could have been even more productive. He was a victim of Cam Ward and Brian Daboll's struggling offense. Tate highlighted every route-running skill needed to develop into a real problem.
Titans WR Carnell Tate had his breakout game in Week 3
Ward missed his rookie playmaker on several occasions. The most glaring miscue occurred on 3rd-and-goal when Ward climbed the pocket and somehow missed Tate for a wide-open touchdown due to poor passing mechanics. On the game-sealing interception with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter from 1st-and-goal, Tate once again appeared to be open in the end zone. Two would-be touchdowns wiped away.
The former Ohio State standout created an average of 3.16 yards of separation on his nine targets, according to Next Gen Stats. That's higher than the league-average mark of 2.99, and was the highest of any Titans receiver in Week 3. That doesn't include the missed opportunities when he created separation and Ward didn't look his way.
Tate averaged a season-high 1.66 yards per route run, according to Pro Football Focus. His aDOT (average depth of target) of 11.0 was also a personal-best mark. His 20-yard reception was his first explosive play of his rookie campaign. The Titans put more on Tate's plate, and he answered the bell.
Tate put on a route-running clinic. Giants rookie cornerback Colton Hood especially struggled to keep pace. It's shameful the offense couldn't sustain enough drives to target him even more frequently.
Titans need more WR Carnell Tate moving forward
The Titans have several issues to fix on offense. They'll head into Sunday's Week 4 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens having scored precisely one more point (37) than the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots (36). Peppering Tate with 10+ targets might be a good idea.
Hopefully Tate's Week 3 showing was the start of something special. The Titans offense needs to ensure it wastes fewer opportunities. The sky is the limit for Tate.
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