Tate will be a 'pure downfield playmaker' for Ward
Kyle Dvorchak reacts to the Titans picking wide receiver Carnell Tate fourth overall in the NFL draft, elaborating on how he will fit into Tennessee's offense as a weapon for quarterback Cam Ward.
Video Transcript
The Tennessee Titans with the number four overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft select Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate.
Now, the first thing you do when you want to find out more about Carnell Tate is go to a sports reference page, see how many yards he had last year.
It wasn't the best.
In 11 games, he caught 51 passes, 875 yards, and nine scores.
But if you don't follow college football, or at least you don't follow up until the NFL Draft, you would not know that his teammate Jeremiah Smith is almost certainly, I mean, we can just write it in pencil at this point, almost write it in pen, going to be a fellow top five pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
I think he'll probably be the best wide receiver prospect since Jamar Chase.
Carnell Tate having an unassuming 2025 should not be held against him.
I think he's exactly what these Tennessee Titans need.
Cam Ward right now is purely a developmental player.
He struggled mightily as a rookie.
He did, however, have flashes of truly physically gifted throws that, I don't know, a dozen quarterbacks in the NFL can make, but just the consistency was not there.
Right now, this team needs a pure downfield playmaker, someone who can connect with Cam Ward on those intermediate and deep shots, and that's what exactly what Carnell Tate provides.
If anything, I think he reminds me of an early career Calvin Ridley.
They do have Calvin Ridley on this roster, obviously, but he's truly a shell of him former self.
I think with Wanda Robinson soaking up some underneath stuff, there's still some room, specifically if Cam Ward improves, for Carnell Tate to maybe close out his rookie season as a wide receiver two, a low-end wide receiver two, but at least start his rookie season as a borderline wide receiver three.
