Carnell Tate WR Ohio State | NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
Carnell Tate WR Ohio State
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| ROLE: Outside X-Receiver | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 05/07/2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 40 time: 4.58 seconds (23%*) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age: 20.3 DOB: 01/19/2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ROLE: Outside X-Receiver | |
| Last Updated: 05/07/2025 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| 40 time: 4.58 seconds (23%*) | |
| Age: 20.3 DOB: 01/19/2005 | |
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| Overall Rating: | 87.7 / 100 | |
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| Average rating of opposition Defense player has faced | ||
| Defense Rating: |
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75% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| QB Rating When targeted: | 122.0 | |
| Hands: |
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81% |
| Short Receiving: |
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78% |
| Intermediate Routes: |
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87% |
| Deep Threat: |
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86% |
| Blocking: |
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64% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
1st - Mid
Overall Rank:
#18
Position rank:
#1
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| College Games: 24 College Snaps: 892 | ||
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) | ||
|---|---|---|
| George Pickens - Georgia |
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93% |
| Keon Coleman - Florida State |
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92% |
| Pat Bryant - Illinois |
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89% |
Draft Profile: Bio
Carnell Tate began his high school career at Marist High School in Chicago, where he caught 28 passes for 444 yards and five TDs as a freshman in 2019, before transferring to IMG Academy for his junior and senior seasons. At IMG, he totaled 750 yards receiving and eight touchdowns over eight games in his senior year, averaging 20.3 yards per catch. Tate was rated as a five-star prospect by both 247Sports (composite ranking #62 overall, #10 at WR) and Rivals (6.1 grade). He enrolled at Ohio State and immediately contributed as a true freshman in 2023, playing in all 13 games and recording 18 receptions for 264 yards and one touchdown.In 2024, Tate started all 15 games during Ohio State's CFP national championship season, finishing with 52 catches for 733 yards and four touchdowns. He recorded a career-high seven catches for 87 yards against Texas in the CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, with five receptions resulting in first downs. In the national championship game against Notre Dame, both of his catches (totaling 35 yards) converted first downs. Tate set a personal best in receiving yards against Nebraska with 102 and scored two touchdowns in his return to Chicago against Northwestern at Wrigley Field. His other touchdown receptions in 2024 came against Akron and Nebraska.
Tate enters the 2025 season having caught at least one pass in 16 consecutive games and has made receptions in 26 of 28 games as a Buckeye. His career totals stand at 70 receptions for 997 yards and five touchdowns. Beyond his on-field performance, Tate is a two-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and an Academic All-Big Ten honoree majoring in sport industry. He has played in all 28 games over his first two seasons at Ohio State and ranks third on the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns behind teammates Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith during the 2024 championship season.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Advanced route technician who sinks his hips with purpose and creates consistent separation at the stem – his ability to sell vertical then break with explosion is NFL-ready.
- Displays exceptional body control when adjusting to off-target throws; contorts mid-air with remarkable flexibility while maintaining tracking and concentration through the catch point.
- Technical hands catcher who plucks away from his frame with confident fingers, rarely allowing the ball to reach his body and showing natural mitts in traffic (81.3% hands grade).
- Routes have veteran-level tempo variation and he understands how to set up defenders with subtle head fakes that create crucial separation windows.
- Thrives in the intermediate area (87.4 grade) where timing matters most; shows uncanny awareness of soft spots in zone coverage and when to sit down versus when to continue moving.
- Deep ball tracking is artistic – consistently positions his body between defender and ball, tracks over either shoulder, and maintains speed through the catch process (85.8 deep grade).
- Plays with controlled aggression after the catch; won't dance unnecessarily but shows enough wiggle to make the first man miss before getting north-south with purpose.
- Competitive as hell in contested situations – showed it repeatedly against Texas in CFP semifinal when pressed, displaying the dog mentality that elevates his game against top competition.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Adequate but unspectacular long speed limits his ability to consistently take the top off defenses; won't frighten NFL coordinators with pure vertical burst.
- Frame still needs additional functional strength; can be redirected by physical corners in press coverage when they land a clean jam at the line.
- Run blocking effort is there but technique remains inconsistent; position coach will need to refine hand placement and leverage points to improve 64.1 blocking grade.
- Can occasionally drift in routes when not the primary read, showing minor lapses in route discipline that won't fly against NFL defensive backs.
- Doesn't possess elite stop-start explosiveness or twitchy change of direction; relies more on technique than pure athleticism to create separation at the breakpoint.
Scouting Report: Summary
Tate will thrive in an NFL offense that maximizes his route precision and intermediate excellence. He's a natural Z-receiver who dominates in that 10-20 yard sweet spot where timing matters. The tape shows a receiver whose body control at the stem and tactical intelligence create separation without elite burst. This skillset fits seamlessly into timing-based systems where quarterbacks need receivers who hit landmarks precisely and understand spatial leverage against zone coverage – his intermediate game is what separates him from other prospects in this class.Offensive coordinators running West Coast principles will see a receiver tailor-made for their system – someone who understands how to beat man coverage with technique rather than pure athleticism. The film reveals a receiver who hunts first downs with purpose – just watch how five of his six catches against Michigan moved the chains. His competitive mentality shows up most clearly when corners try to bully him; instead of wilting, he fights through contact and makes tough grabs anyway.
What keeps Tate from being considered truly elite is speed – good but not game-breaking. He wins with his brain and his hands, not by simply running past defenders. When I compare his tape to recent Ohio State products, I see more Olave than Wilson in his game – a technician who wins with nuance rather than pure explosiveness. Watching his Cotton Bowl performance against first-round talent in the Texas secondary tells me everything – this isn't a receiver who will need a redshirt year to figure out NFL coverage. He's a Day 1 contributor with immediate third-down value who brings championship pedigree to the table.
How other scouting services rate Carnell Tate (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
26.5
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
3.0
*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.