Carnell Tate WR Ohio State |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #17 ROLE: Outside X-Receiver | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 03/01/2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.53 seconds (40%*) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age: 21.6 DOB: 01/19/2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #17 | |
| ROLE: Outside X-Receiver | |
| Last Updated: 03/01/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 4.53 seconds (40%*) | |
| Age: 21.6 DOB: 01/19/2005 | |
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| Overall Rating: | 88.4 / 100 | |
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| Average rating of opposition Defense player has faced | ||
| Defense Rating: |
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78% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| QB Rating When targeted: | 145.3 | |
| Hands: |
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89% |
| Short Receiving: |
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86% |
| Intermediate Routes: |
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91% |
| Deep Threat: |
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91% |
| Blocking: |
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65% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
1st - Mid
Overall Rank:
#12
Position rank:
#2 (WR)
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| College Games: 35 College Snaps: 1394 | ||
ESPN RATING: 81/100
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247 RATING: 98/100
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RIVALS RATING: 6.1 (100%)
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Xavier Hutchinson - Iowa State |
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92% |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba - Ohio State |
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84% |
| Jack Bech - TCU |
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83% |
Drafted: ROUND: 1 - Pick Number: 4 (TEN)
Draft Profile: Bio
Carnell Tate's football story starts on the South Side of Chicago at Marist High School, where he caught 28 balls for 444 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman in 2019. That kind of early production got attention, and by the time he transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for his junior and senior years, the national recruiting machine was fully locked in. Going against top-tier prep talent on a daily basis only sharpened him. As a senior, Tate averaged 20.3 yards per reception, piling up 750 yards and eight touchdowns in just eight games. A standout showing against St. Frances Academy, one of the most loaded programs in the country, cemented his five-star status from both Rivals (6.1) and 247Sports. He signed with Ohio State as the No. 62 overall prospect nationally and No. 10 receiver in his class.In Columbus, Tate contributed right away. His true freshman season in 2023 produced 18 catches for 264 yards and a score across all 13 games, numbers that quietly topped what Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Jaxon Smith-Njigba managed in their own first years as Buckeyes. The following season, Tate stepped into a starting role during Ohio State's run to the national championship. Lining up opposite eventual first-rounder Emeka Egbuka and alongside freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith, he totaled 52 receptions for 733 yards and four touchdowns in 15 starts. His best work came on the biggest stages: seven grabs for 87 yards in the Cotton Bowl semifinal against Texas, with five of those receptions converting critical downs.
The 2025 junior campaign is where Tate separated himself as a go-to weapon. Even after missing three games with a calf strain, he put up career highs across the board: 51 catches, 875 yards, nine touchdowns, and a 17.2 yards-per-catch average that screamed big-play ability. Five of those nine touchdowns covered 40-plus yards, and his nine-catch, 183-yard destruction of Minnesota was the kind of performance that makes you sit up and rewind. Those numbers earned him second-team All-American honors from multiple outlets. At the combine in Indianapolis, Tate ran a 4.53 forty, slotting him 27th out of 34 receivers. The number confirmed what the tape already told us. Nobody who studied this kid seriously thought he was a 4.4 guy. Bills GM Brandon Beane had some fun with it on the NFL Network broadcast, calling Tate "pretty slow" with a grin that fooled absolutely nobody. The whole booth laughed. If anything, Beane's little performance told you more about how certain front offices actually view Tate than any stopwatch reading did. Off the field, Tate is a two-time OSU Scholar-Athlete, Academic All-Big Ten selection, and first-team Academic All-American with a 3.50 GPA in sport industry. He recorded at least one catch in 26 of 28 career games as a Buckeye and declared for the draft on January 6, aiming to become the fifth straight Ohio State receiver taken in Round 1.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- High-points the football like he owns the air. Corners can be in perfect position and it doesn't matter. He times his leap, extends those long arms, and rips it away from defenders.
- Watch how he sets up his routes. Sells vertical with his eyes and tempo, then snaps off a comeback that leaves the DB grabbing air. Real craft to his game.
- Ball tracking at full speed is a thing of beauty. Adjusts over either shoulder without losing a step and always gets his body between the defender and the catch point.
- Hands are as natural as they come. Snatches everything away from his frame with strong fingers. Three drops all year on a 5.4% rate tells you everything.
- Eats zone coverage alive. Finds the soft spot, sits down when he needs to, drifts when the quarterback scrambles. Just understands spacing at a pro level already.
- Best in the class at coming back to underthrown balls. Doesn't let DBs undercut him. Closes the distance to the quarterback and takes away any chance for a pick.
- Not afraid of traffic. Will run the seam and take the hit to move the chains. Shows some dog in him when corners try to get physical at the catch point.
- The big-play jump in 2025 was real. Five touchdowns of 40-plus yards. When he gets a runway and builds up steam, he can absolutely hurt you deep.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- The 4.53 at the combine put it on paper for everyone to see. He is not a burner who will consistently run by NFL corners on vertical routes, and that cap on his long speed defines his ceiling as a pure outside threat.
- Long, physical corners who get their hands on him early at the line can knock his release timing off. At 192 pounds, he needs to pack on functional mass or press-heavy schemes will be a weekly grind.
- Run blocking is clearly a work in progress. The effort shows up, but his hand placement drifts and he fails to sustain through contact. A position coach will need to invest time here early.
- Telegraphs his comebacks and stop routes. His pad level visibly rises just before the break, giving NFL corners a readable cue they will absolutely exploit with anticipation and physicality.
- Missed three games in 2025 with a calf injury on a lean frame. Durability will be a fair question as the hits intensify and the 17-game grind of an NFL season takes hold.
Scouting Report: Summary
Tate is a polished, technically sound receiver who wins with precision, body control, and an understanding of coverage structures that most college wideouts simply do not possess. The combine didn't change a thing about his evaluation for me. He was never going to test like Tyreek Hill, and he was never supposed to. His game lives in the intermediate zones, in the way he manipulates leverage at the top of routes, in how he high-points throws over tight coverage, and in the dependability he brings on third down. He reminds me more of Chris Olave's profile than Garrett Wilson's coming out of Columbus. That is not an insult. That is a very good football player with a long career ahead of him.The scheme conversation matters more for Tate than it does for most receivers in this class. West Coast concepts, timing-based passing games, and offenses that value intermediate accuracy over vertical shot plays are where he will do his best work. He thrives in that 10-to-20-yard window, finding soft spots in zones and converting money downs. A system that asks him to beat press coverage on every snap and win deep as its primary plan of attack would be underusing what makes him special. Put him in a structured offense with a quarterback who trusts timing, and you are going to see a productive starter from Week 1. Brandon Beane can joke all he wants on national television, but the tape and the production speak for themselves, and NFL decision-makers know it.
The floor with Tate is high, and that should not be overlooked. He played alongside elite talent throughout his time at Ohio State and still demanded targets when defenses had every reason to bracket Jeremiah Smith and let someone else beat them. His championship experience, his academic profile, his leadership traits all point to a player who will handle the transition to the professional level without a hitch. The question teams will wrestle with is not whether he can play. It is whether his physical limitations keep him from ever becoming the true number-one option in an offense. In a league starved for reliable, smart, productive receivers who contribute from Day 1, that question might matter less than some think.
Carnell Tate percentiles vs other Wide Receivers (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Carnell Tate (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
10.2
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
1.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank
in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance.
For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.