Carnell Tate

The Player

Tate was a productive contributor during his first two seasons at Ohio State before a breakout season in 2025, when he averaged 17.2 yards per catch on 51 receptions and scored nine touchdowns. He missed three games during the second half of the season due to a calf injury and was never quite the same upon his return against Michigan and in two College Football Playoff games. 

Tate is a tall, sturdy, and savvy route-running perimeter receiver who developed into a contested-catch machine in 2025 (85.7 percent). He’s not overly dynamic after the catch but he’s a craftsman on deep routes and projects as one of the highest-impact NFL-ready receivers in this talented class. Tate excels as a vertical route runner—he sets defenders up and uses subtle movements to create downfield separation and plays much faster than his 40 time suggests. He attacks the ball in the air and is good at plucking it over his head and away from his frame. He has strong hands in traffic and tracks the ball smoothly over his shoulder. Tate improved his contested-catch rate from 54.5 percent in 2024 to 85.7 percent in 2025.

Tate transitions upfield after the catch relatively quickly and his size and movement can make it difficult for defensive backs to bring him down. However, outside of his one-cut-and-go move, he might lack the twitch and change-of-direction skills to make defenders miss and generate a lot of YAC yards in the NFL. Like most OSU receivers, he’s an effective blocker in the run and screen game.  

The Draft

There’s a lot of debate about WR1, but Tate’s my pick. His combination of size, fluidity, attention to detail as a route runner, and aggressive, strong hands makes him the most complete player in a strong receiver class.

The Projection

Tate is a day-one starting perimeter receiver in the NFL. He shares some similarities with Davante Adams in terms of their size, route-running craftiness, smoothness of movement (with solid but not elite speed), and confidence of hands.