Titans NFL Draft prospect is built to transform the offense overnight

The Tennessee Titans are desperate for a dominant outside presence at wide receiver, and there is no better candidate for that in the 2026 draft than Ohio State’s Carnell Tate. Tate is the consensus top receiver in the class and would be a huge addition to an offense that severely lacked downfield playmakers in 2025. It's no surprise that Tate is a common mock draft selection at fourth overall.

What exactly makes Tate such an intriguing option? First and foremost, it’s his ability at the catch point. Tate has the best pass catching skills of any prospect we've scouted in the last five years. This season at Ohio State, he caught 51 passes without a single recorded drop and was a remarkable 12/14 on contested catches, according to PFF. 

Tate is so dominant in this area, not just because of his size and athleticism, but also due to outstanding fundamentals. He always has his thumbs together as he reaches for the ball, and very rarely clap-attacks the football. Even on targets where he has to fully extend his arms or contort his body, his technique doesn’t waiver. 

Carnell Tate is perfect fit for Tennessee Titans, Cam Ward in 2026 NFL Draft

Tate consistently reaches out his hands to make catches at the earliest possible moment, rarely giving defenders a chance to disrupt the play. Tate is also excellent at tracking difficult targets over his shoulder. 

However, to be a great outside receiver in the NFL, you need more than just great ball skills. What really separates Tate from a lot of other prospects in this class is his ability to layer his routes and vary his tempo.

Here’s a great example of both of those concepts in one play. This is a comeback route, but notice how Tate doesn’t just run straight to his landmark and break. He makes it look like a go route by attacking the defender's leverage then giving a hard head fake to the inside. Tate then accelerates out of that step, forcing the CB to flip his hips and run with the vertical. Once that happens, Tate executes a smooth break.

Crucially, Tate also continues to run out of the break, maintaining the separation he has on the defender. That’s one of the many ways Tate makes himself a QB-friendly target. 

Despite all this, Tate still has holes in his game that he will need to address to be truly great in the NFL. He needs to make more use of his hands against press coverage, too often letting defenders access his chest. On speed breaks, he can give early indicators of where he’s breaking, allowing deep defenders to cut off his routes. 

Tate also doesn’t offer a whole lot as an after the catch threat. He’s got the speed to catch a crossing route and outrun the pursuit to create big plays, but doesn’t have the shiftiness to make defenders miss in tight quarters.

Even with those shortcomings, Tate is a seamless fit into Brian Daboll's spread heavy attack that really shines when it has one-on-one winners on the outside.