Tate already showing why taking him No. 4 was 'easy decision' for Titans

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Carnell Tate. DENNY SIMMONS/THE TENNESSEAN/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Carnell Tate already showing why taking WR with pick No. 4 in 2026 NFL Draft was 'easy decision' for Titans

By Clark Dalton | Last updated May 25, 2026 1:36 PM ET

Tennessee Titans second-year quarterback Cam Ward turned 24 on Monday. Consider rookie wide receiver Carnell Tate his early birthday present.

Tennessee selected Ohio State Buckeyes star Tate with pick No. 4 in the 2026 NFL Draft to be Ward's No. 1 pass-catcher. Some league insiders viewed the choice as a reach, but Titans head coach Robert Saleh called the drafting of Tate an "easy decision" in his introductory news conference on April 24.

He showed why during the team's first round of OTAs last week.

Carnell Tate made a strong impression at OTAs

Citing Jim Wyatt of the Titans' website, Easton Freeze of A to Z Sports shared that Tate had a team-leading six receptions during the team period on May 21, three of which were touchdown catches. ESPN's Turron Davenport expanded on the skills the former Ohio State standout flashed in a story published Monday.

.@carnelltate with a casual one-handed grab during warmup period at start of Thursday’s @Titans practice. pic.twitter.com/0UzBmEeoUc
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) May 21, 2026

"The Titans love Tate's exceptional ball skills and large catch radius that make him a potent downfield catcher," Davenport wrote of the 6-foot-2, 195-pound WR. "Tate's field-stretching ability flashed during a team period Thursday when he easily hauled in a 50-yard-plus touchdown pass from Ward after a coverage mishap by defensive backs Marcus Harris and Kevin Winston Jr."

The Titans may produce more deep passing plays like the one in practice this upcoming season. Tate consistently beat man or zone coverage during his final season with Ohio State. Sports Info Solutions credited him with the best positive play percentage against zone (67 percent) and man coverage (56 percent) among the 54 WRs in its 2026 draft matrix. Positive play percentage is the rate of plays that resulted in an EPA (expected points added) gain for an offense.

His ability to make catches in traffic also makes him a threat in the deep passing game. Pro Football Focus noted Tate posted an 85.7 percent contested catch rate in 2025, tied for ninth among 200 FBS WRs.

Per PFF, Ward tied for 13th with Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert in deep completion percentage (38.6 percent) last season among 36 passers. Deep passes are those that travel 20-plus yards through the air from the line of scrimmage. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 draft expects to produce more big plays with Tate in the picture.

"He'll have an explosive year just because he'll get a lot of one-on-one matchups," Ward said of Tate on May 21. "That's what we want. We want guys to come down and play, man [coverage], because we think we can beat him."

If Tate does so, he can help the Titans begin improving after going 6-28 over their last 34 games. It would also make him one of the best gifts the franchise has given Ward.

Clark Dalton

Clark Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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