The new right-hand man of second-year Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward is settling in.
Carnell Tate arrived in Tennessee less than two weeks ago after the Titans selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft. The Ohio State wide receiver’s incredible climb to the NFL is complete. Now, it’s time to seek new mountaintops in his professional football career. And the Titans believe he can achieve great peaks as Ward’s new WR1.
“(We’re) doing everything we can to help (Ward) and surround with players who can get the ball in their hand and go score,” Titans head coach Robert Saleh said on April 24. “Carnell is obviously, by far, the top receiver on our board. So when we got to four, it was a very easy decision to make.”
Tate entered his junior year widely projected as a borderline first-round draft pick in 2026 at wide receiver. As a sophomore, he was the No. 3 starting receiver for Ohio State’s 2024 national championship team, collecting 52 receptions for 733 yards and four touchdowns. It took half a season for him to jump all the way to the clear No. 1 wideout prospect in the draft class.
“It was ultimately a mindset change,” Tate said on April 24. “This is the year I had set for myself to go out there and ultimately declare for the draft. Just go out there and show everybody who I think I am.”
Through the first eight games of the 2025 season, Tate showed that he and Jeremiah Smith weren’t just the best receiver tandem in the country; they might have been the two best wide receivers individually. Tate emerged as a menacing deep threat with excellent route-running skills and two of the surest hands in the country, racking up 39 receptions for 711 yards and seven touchdowns in Ohio State’s first eight contests.
JULIAN SAYIN LAUNCHES IT TO CARNELL TATE! TOUCHDOWN @OhioStateFB
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 18, 2025
CBS pic.twitter.com/CduVmL4PLM
Tate finished the year with 51 receptions for 875 yards and 11 touchdowns after missing three games with a lower-body injury. His stock skyrocketed. Not just to be the draft’s top receiver, but to tie Marvin Harrison Jr. as the highest-drafted Ohio State wide receiver in school history and be the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 draft.
Much of Tennessee’s thought process behind taking Tate that high had to do with its No. 1 overall pick in 2025: Ward. The Titans have their quarterback. One of the next priorities is surrounding him with weapons. They felt Tate was the best weapon in the draft.
“He's a bigger vertical guy,” Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said after picking Tate on April 23. “The route running, very efficient, his route running. I thought he had exceptional ball skills, be able to track the footballs, catch radius downfield, I think is going to be a great fit in this offense. ... All these contested catches downfield, his ability to go up and catch the football, contort his body in certain ways, I think it's going to be great for Cam.”
Ward and Tate got to work immediately developing their connection, too. Within hours of being drafted, Tate had his first extended conversation with his new quarterback.
“It was a fun interaction,” Tate said. “Cam's a great guy, elite talent, elite quarterback, great guy. I grew up watching him. I watched him at Washington State. So, we can't wait to get out there and light it up together.”
Ohio State not only produced a line of six first-round NFL draft picks in its final five seasons with Brian Hartline as wide receivers coach, and Jeremiah Smith figures to extend the first-round streak to six in the room’s first under the guidance of Cortez Hankton. It’s not just getting to the NFL, however: Hartline’s elite have produced in the league. Four of them already have a 1,000-yard receiving season, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the best receiver in the NFL in 2025.
Tate said it was Hartline's stress of the “little things” that made him excel under the newly minted head coach of South Florida. Tate also got challenged every day by the Ohio State receiver room that Hartline built.
“I'm thankful for the ones that came before me that allowed me to be on the path I am today,” Tate said. "The older guys paved the way for the younger guys, so I'm thankful for them. Also, we just learn from each other. Whether that's different moves to run on the field or just even off the field, how each guy had their own routine. So just learning from each other and perfecting our own routine.”
Tate will want to improve on his run-after-catch ability at the NFL level, but it’s hard to point to another flaw in his game. He adds a layer of explosiveness, dependability and contested catch ability to the Titans’ wide receiver room.
“All these guys have to improve in certain areas,” Borgonzi said. “What I think he really does well, though, at the top of routes, he's able to separate in his burst and everything to separate at the second, third level. And you can see the burst off the line of scrimmage, too. And there's always things these guys can improve on. They're still developing.”
No. 1 wide receiver status won’t be gifted to Tate in Tennessee, even as a top-five overall pick. Calvin Ridley had 1,017 yards for the Titans in 2024 before injuries limited him to seven games in 2025. He enters his age 32 season. 25-year-old Wan’Dale Robinson arrives from the New York Giants after a 1,014-yard 2025.
But the odds are great that Tate is the next great wide receiver from Ohio State.
