Carnell Tate receives unbelievable NFL comparison

The Ohio State offense has been among college football’s best this season, and that’s been in no small part due to the incredible play of Carnell Tate, who has quickly developed into one of the hottest draft prospects in college football.

Tate has been a consistently explosive deep threat all season long. Tate has five touchdowns of over 40 yards so far this season, and has racked up a total of 793 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 18 yards per catch.

All that success has begun to draw him some NFL comparisons, and ESPN’s Matt Miller has given Tate a favorable comparison. He described Tate’s play as incredibly similar to that of Justin Jefferson during his final season at LSU.

“I know, I know… this sounds wild. But it’s on point when comparing Tate to what Jefferson was at LSU – not what he is doing now in the NFL. Both are 6-foot-3 and around 200 pounds. They each excelled as route runners while also being dominant on 50-50 balls thanks to vertical skills and body-adjustment ability,” Miller wrote. “I’m not predicting Tate will take the NFL by storm and become a top player as quickly as Jefferson did, but their skill sets are very similar when evaluating where they were entering the draft.”

Even though Miller has doubts on just how quickly Tate can turn into an NFL superstar, the way Jefferson did, the comparison makes a whole lot of sense. For starters, both were in similar situations in their college passing game.

Both shared the field with an equally talented wide out. Tate has been with Jeremiah Smith, while Jefferson lined up with Jamar Chase. Both wideouts also had high caliber quarterbacks throwing them the ball, with Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and LSU’s Joe Burrow.

Obviously, the glaring difference has been in the statistics. Jefferson put up 111 catches for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns his final year in 15 games, compared to Tate who has played just nine games. 

While there is no doubt Jefferson was the better player overall, many of Jefferson’s best traits appear in Tate. They share the explosive play ability, hands, speed and the ability to create separation.

Jefferson was able to leave LSU on a high note, winning a national championship. Tate already has a ring in his stellar college career, but Ohio State is once again in a position to win another natty.

Tate is currently working through injury, but after playing a key role in the win over Michigan, Tate is expected to be able to go for the Big 10 Championship game. If he keeps producing the way he has all season long, his draft stock will only continue to increase.

If Tate can produce anywhere near the level Jefferson has in the NFL, teams should be lining up to add some firepower to their offense in the 2026 draft.