The Tennessee Titans may have lost a tough one against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4, but rookie wide receiver Carnell Tate finally showed every fan of the team why he was a top-5 pick in the draft.
After catching just 13 passes for 123 yards in the first three games of his career, Tate absolutely exploded against the Ravens, catching nine passes for 145 yards. The connection between Tate and Cam Ward was exactly what Titans fans have been hoping to see, but as has been typical with this team, it came with a bit of an asterisk.
Tate fumbled on one of his biggest catches of the day as the Titans were climbing back into the game down 21-7. Let's take a look back at Tate's big game against the Ravens and give it a grade to see where he can grow from here.
Carnell Tate's big game in Titans' loss to Ravens comes with one glaring negative
One of the things we have known to be true about Carnell Tate dating back to his time at Ohio State is that this guy can run routes.
He has no issues getting open, which is one of the reasons why the Titans prioritzed him -- somewhat surprisingly, even -- with the 4th overall pick in this year's draft. All of the talk leading up to the NFL Draft was about the Titans getting stronger on the defensive front, but they saw a chance to get a security blanket for their young quarterback, and they took it.
Over the last two games now, Tate has been targeted 21 times, catching 15 of those passes. What we saw on display against the Ravens, which we haven't seen in the other three games, was Tate being a consistent big play threat.
In the first three games of the season, Tate averaged less than 10 yards per reception. Adding the explosives into the mix? That's a game-changer for both Tate and for Cam Ward.
Titans fans don't need reminding, but how many times has Ward been criticized for not being able to push the ball down the field?
Tate gives him someone he can throw to downfield with confidence, and on a consistent basis.
Of course, Tate is a complete player at the position. he may not be Jeremiah Smith in terms of overall physical gifts, but he's got everything you look for at the receiver position, and it was all on display against the Ravens. The one thing he has to work on is ball security.
At a time when the Titans already had their backs against the wall and needed a clutch play, Tate got sloppy with his ball security and had the ball punched out by Ravens star safety Kyle Hamilton. Hey, it happens to the best of 'em.
Tate said after the game that a play like that is something you have to just laugh off, and he's right. The last thing you want for a playmaker like this is to be thinking about ball security instead of just playing the game. Obviously, Tate is going to have to be mindful of taking care of the football, but if you dwell on a play like that too much, it can create a snowball effect.
Tate is a huge piece of this offense both now and going forward. His emergence is going to be crucial for this offense taking a gradual leap as the season goes along.
Carnell Tate game grade vs. Ravens: B+
There will be plenty of big games yet to come for Carnell Tate. He averaged 16.1 yards per reception against the Ravens, and you can see that things are already starting to slow down for him.
But the fumble docks his grade a little bit, and we know he's going to get into the end zone at some point.
Those two things will have his grades skyrocketing throughout the season.
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