Grade

1st Round

2026 Draft Class

Carnell Tate

Grade

C+

Status

DraftedR1 • P4Tennessee Titans

Ohio State

6'2 1/4"

192lbs

May 1, 2026

Executive Summary

Carnell Tate is a polished receiver with elite ball skills, strong contested-catch ability, and high-level effort as a run blocker, making him a reliable target who can consistently win in traffic and contribute in multiple phases of the offense.

Strengths

Run Blocking, Route Running, and Ball Skills

Weaknesses

YAC Ability, Agility, and Game IQ

Full Scouting Report

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Route Running

Pros:

•Decent releases

•Mixes up his footwork at the top of his routes to throw off corners

•Solid breakdown

•Attacks the inner hip if the corner overcommits

•Sinks hips well

•Stacks his routes sort’ve

•Changes pace and mixes it up well

•Forces the DB to react and turn his hips on the top of his routes sometimes

•Can come to a stop and accelerate out of his breaks well

•Can be physical at the top of his routes at times

•Gets in the corners toes to force his hand

•Utilizes head fakes

•Does well against soft presses

Cons:

•Rounds in breaking routes occasionally

•Doesn’t use his hands throughout the route

•No hand activation in press release or at the top of his route

•Doesn’t show consistent effort on routes especially when he knows he isn’t the first read

•Can get pushed off of his route because he doesn’t use his hands

•Really struggles against hard presses and overly physical corners

•Would like to see him use his eyes more to manipulate the hips of the defenders

RAC / YAC Ability

Pros:

•Falls forward to pick up extra yards

•Decent acceleration and burst after the catch

•Good vision as a runner

Cons:

•Lack of balance to stay on his feet after going up for a grab

•Doesn’t have home run speed

•Not gonna break very many tackles

•Doesn’t have ankle-breaking or impressive elusiveness

•Not a playmaker

Athleticism / Frame

Pros:

•Slightly above average long speed

•4.52 40 time is ok

•Good length and frame

•Decent acceleration out of his breaks

•Good vertical

•Smooth mover

Cons:

•His athleticism doesn’t blow you away, especially for someone who could be drafted in the top 5

Ball Skills

Pros:

•Strong at the catch point

•Attacks the ball at the highest point

•Extremely good contested catch ability

•Great ball tracking skills

•Very consistently uses his hands rather than his body on catches

Cons:

•Can struggle to catch anticipation throws and throws that are right at his face after he breaks or turns his head

•Doesn’t consistently haul in the fingertip-type catches

Game IQ / Processing

Pros:

•Comes back to the ball on hitches and curls

•Works back to the ball in scramble drill

•Does a decent job finding soft spots in the zone

•Good sideline awareness

•Very calm at all times

Cons:

•Needs to get his head turned around faster

Agility / Twitch

Pros:

•Rapid acceleration off the LOS

•Good foot speed

•Good explosiveness at times coming out of his breaks

•Good overall acceleration and short-area quickness

Cons:

•Isn’t consistently explosive

Versatility

Pros:

•Gets put in motion a lot

•Can line up inside and close to the line of scrimmage for crack blocks and to lead block

•Put in the backfield in unique sets at times

Cons:

•Doesn’t really get utilized in the unique play sets he is really only a distraction

Run Blocking

Pros:

•Very willing run blocker

•Good job at stemming and making the corner choose the side away from the play

•Great pop

•Really good overall blocking technique and effort

•Does well on crack blocks and stem blocks

Cons:

•Can get out-muscled if someone matches his effort

•Sometimes just completely misses the block

Games Watched:

•Week 1 vs TEX, Week 3 vs OHIO (h), Week 4 vs WASH, Week 5 vs MINN, Week 7 vs WIS (h), Week 8 vs PSU, Week 9 vs MICH(h), Week 10 vs IU, CFP vs MIA

Ideal Situation:

•Carnell Tate had an exceptional season for the Buckeyes. Cam Ward finally got help at the receiver position after an extremely lackluster receiver room last season. Overnight, the Titans' offense got better with the acquisition of Carnell Tate. Rightfully so, he was selected in the first round. However, I still have some concerns surrounding his play and future with the Titans. Let’s start with the positives. Tate is very strong at the catch point and can haul in impressive catches in traffic and on jump balls. His run blocking was excellent and refreshing to see compared to other receivers in past seasons. Tate gives an incredible effort and has good technique and physicality in blocking. Tate’s route running was also pretty solid. Now, let’s address my concerns and potential weaknesses at the next level. On film, it is clear that he can be rattled by overphysical corners and can struggle to create separation against those types of players. Tate’s lack of hand usage throughout his route, at the break, and during press was very bad and a big concern. Tate has never been a WR1 in his career, but he has benefited from playing alongside the best receiver in the country over the last two seasons, Jeremiah Smith. On top of that, his playmaking ability after the catch was not impressive. Tate doesn’t have the elusive factor or strength to break tackles consistently in college and surely won’t in the NFL. Tate will need to show consistent effort on every down at the next level, as he will have a much bigger role than he ever had in college, and prove that he can be a WR1 at the next level after being picked #4 overall over players like Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, Mansoor Delane, and Caleb Downs. For now, I grade him as a good WR2 that can fit into a Jakobi Meyers role. He has the upside to be a mid-tier WR1 if all goes right.

Rating:

•Route Running – 8.6/10

•RAC / YAC Ability – 6.5/10

•Athleticism / Frame – 8.4/10

•Ball Skills – 9.5/10

•Game IQ / Processing – 8.0/10

•Agility / Twitch – 8.0/10

•Versatility – 8.7/10

•Run Blocking – 9.0/10

Total = 84.0 (B) Early 2nd to Late 1st

Combine Testing

Height

6'2"

Weight

192lbs

27thBelow Average

40-Yard Dash

4.53s

42thBelow Average

Vertical

—

Bench

—

Broad Jump

—

Three-Cone

—

Shuttle

—

DPH Proprietary Scores

Frame Score

Measures a prospect's physical build and size relative to historical NFL positional standards.

DPH Athlete

Diamond Prospects' proprietary athletic score that evaluates a player's overall athletic profile using combine testing and positional percentiles.

Total Score

The combined athletic evaluation generated from Frame Score and DPH Athlete Score.

Combine Year: 2026 • Data from DPH Combine Database

Andrés Griñe

Founder of DiamondProspects and Head NFL Scout View Full Bio

I am an Assistant in Player Personnel/Scouting for Washington State Football with over six years of experience scouting NFL prospects and evaluating talent. I previously covered high school baseball as a writer for NMPreps and now run DiamondProspects, where I publish scouting reports, prospect evaluations, and draft analysis. I am currently a junior pursuing a degree in Sports Management and am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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