They say not to scout the helmet and to scout the player. It just so happens that Ohio State has been putting first-round wide receivers into the NFL year after year after year. When Carnell Tate hears his name on the first night of the 2026 NFL Draft, it will mark the sixth Buckeye first-round receiver over the course of the last five drafts (with Jeremiah Smith likely adding to that total next year).
2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Carnell Tate
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 192 pounds
Arms: 31.75″
Hands: 10.25″
40-yard: 4.53
Vertical: TBD
Broad jump: TBD
RAS: TBD
School: Ohio State
Position: Wide Receiver
Carnell Tate NFL Draft Overview
Remember that infamous IMG Academy vs. Bishop Sycamore game? Carnell Tate was on that IMG team and actually scored the game’s first two touchdowns. Coming out of IMG, Tate committed to Ohio State as a five-star recruit and was rated as the third-best receiver in the nation in the 2023 recruiting cycle.
From the jump as a true freshman, Tate was able to crack the rotation with two first-round talents in the room. In total, he appeared in all 13 games, hauled in 18 receptions for 264 yards and one score. That touchdown, his first in his career, came on an impressive 28-yard catch in Week 3 against Western Kentucky.
As a sophomore in 2024, Tate took over as WR2 alongside two future first-rounders. In total, Tate amassed 733 yards and four touchdowns over the course of 15 games. His first-career 100-yard game came in the win over Nebraska, and his first multi-score game came against Northwestern, his hometown team (he’s from Chicago).
After winning it all, Tate came back as WR2 for 2025. He dealt with nagging injuries for most of the back half of the season, but he returned in time for the pivotal final three games of the year. In 11 games, Tate accounted for 875 yards and nine touchdowns on 51 catches. He went off for four 100-yard games.
Tate finishes his Ohio State career with 121 receptions (20th in Ohio State history), 1,872 yards (18th), and 14 touchdowns (24th).
Strengths
- Smooth, clean route running
- Can slip press coverage and get open
- Great at finding the soft spots in zone coverage
- Dominates contested catches (converted 12 of 14 contested catches in 2025)
- Big-play threat; scored five 40-plus-yard touchdowns in 2025
- Only three drops in 2025
- Ball tracking in the air is unmatched
Weaknesses
- Questions surround that 4.5 Combine time
- Missed three games in 2025 due to injury
- Was never WR1 in his career
- Run blocking needs work
- Not as much of a YAC threat
Projection: Early First Round
Best Fits: Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans
Bottom Line on Carnell Tate
Carnell Tate has a great chance to be the first wide receiver taken in this year’s draft. While he, along with the other two top prospects, is not seen as generational, Tate looks like he can be a long-term, consistent receiver in the NFL.
He has all of the tools you look for in a WR1. Tate is a route-running savant, just as all others who have come before him from the Brian Hartline school of wide receivering. He turns just about every 50/50 ball into 90/10 in his favor. While he is a big play threat and can make just about any contested catch thrown his way, it’s not like he’s a one-trick pony to just throw fades to in the red zone.
Tate doesn’t have that breakaway speed that some WR1s have, but he gets separation from his route running. At the same time, when matched up in man, he quickly eats up the space between him and the corner, makes him miss, and turns on the gas to break behind the defense.
He will have the opportunity to clear up some concerns about that speed at his Pro Day, but being a burner was never part of his game. Tate wins in just about every other way.
He may be best served by being a WR2 early on in his career, and then developing into a WR1. If given the opportunity, he could be a WR1 from the jump, but we haven’t seen what he can do when the defense is primarily focused on him. At Ohio State, it was Jeremiah Smith over the last two seasons.
All in all, Tate has all of the makings of a long-time star.
