NFL executives blast Titans for drafting Carnell Tate over Arvell Reese

The Tennessee Titans surprised many members of the football community when they made Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate the fourth overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. That decision gifted the New York Giants with the opportunity to select Ohio State pass-rusher Arvell Reese at pick No. 5.

Per Jim Wyatt of the Titans' website, Tennessee assistant general manager Dave Ziegler insisted on Tuesday that Tate "was a clear guy for us to take" with the draft's fourth choice. For a piece published on Wednesday, NFL insider Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom US spoke with multiple league executives who believe that Titans head coach and known defensive guru Robert Saleh should've pushed his employer to grab Reese over Tate. 

Will Titans ultimately regret Carnell Tate, Arvell Reese draft decision?

"He’s going to regret passing on Reese," a longtime NFL personnel executive said about Saleh. "The guy who took him (Giants coach John Harbaugh) will know how to use him, watch. That’s a big, powerful dude. He’s going to be a handful on the edge in that defense. You have to be willing to move him around and think outside the box, but that size and power, that’s a top-five pick, my man. Not the wide receiver."

Before the draft got underway, Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranked Reese as the top overall prospect in this year's class. For a mailbag posted on Wednesday, NFL reporter Connor Hughes of SNY shared that "almost every source" he spoke with said that the Titans "over-drafted" Tate. 

Why one general manager thinks Titans drafted Carnell Tate "too high"

Per Elizabeth Merrill of ESPN, eyebrows were raised when Tate posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.53 seconds at the NFL scouting combine in February.

"It’s hard to find a lot of true No. 1 receivers with that 40 time," one general manager said about Tate while speaking with La Canfora. "It doesn’t really happen. Taking a receiver without the speed to take the top off a defense there, that’s too high to me."

Meanwhile, a different general manager added that he thought the Titans "would have jumped on Reese." 

If these executives are proven right, Harbaugh may want to send Saleh a thank-you gift at some point down the road.