Even Carnell Tate was surprised to go 4th overall to Titans

DENNY SIMMONS / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Even Carnell Tate was surprised to go 4th overall to Titans

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Apr 28, 2026 4:53 PM ET

The Tennessee Titans caught a lot of people off guard by selecting Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate with the No. 4 pick in the NFL Draft. It turns out Tate himself was one of those people.

Bleacher Report shared a behind-the-scenes video from the first round of the draft, and it included Tate’s Ohio State teammate Sonny Styles reacting after the wide receiver got drafted. Evidently, Tate and Styles had chatted about possible landing spots, because Styles admitted that Tate had not even been thinking about possibly landing with the Titans.

“He wasn’t even thinking about the Titans,” Styles said.

Sonny Styles said Carnell Tate "wasn't thinking about the Titans" before getting drafted pic.twitter.com/ok8deusWjM
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 28, 2026

To be clear, Styles was pleased for his teammate, and felt the Titans were “a good spot for him” given their relative lack of offensive weapons around young quarterback Cam Ward.

Still, many felt that Tate was probably a top-10 pick, not necessarily top-5. That clearly didn’t bother the Titans, and the wide receiver will not be seen as the only reach of the night, either.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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