Tate turning heads in rookie offseason with Titans
NASHVILLE, Tn. – Back in April, the Tennessee Titans selected Carnell Tate, a wide receiver out of Ohio State University, with the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Through 10 offseason practices, he’s already stacking up some pretty rave reviews across the board.
“He’s polished, man. For a rookie to come in, doing some of the things that he’s doing is really, really exciting,” cornerback Alontae Taylor said. “I just continue to compete with him, continue to push him to polish him in certain areas as well. Come Sundays, he’s going to be very exciting to watch.”
“For a young player, we’ve thrown a lot at these guys, and he’s picked it up extremely well,” offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said. “I’ve done this for a long time. In terms of picking it up, he’s been one of the tops at the skill position.”
A crafty, quick wide out from a big-name school should bring no surprises to the next level, and there’s many expectations on the horizon.
There’s been five receivers drafted in the first round across the last five seasons, and outside of Travis Hunter (injury), all have totaled at least four touchdowns and 600+ receiving yards in their first year.
With just that base stat line, he would’ve been the top WR on this Titans roster in 2025, but before he can tally any stats, Tate, along with the rest of this rookie class, continues to adjust to the day-to-day lifestyle of becoming an NFL player.
“You know, they get here, they’re so out of shape, and so they’re just trying to get themselves physically caught up in that regard, and he’s done a really nice job from a practice standpoint, as they all have,” head coach Robert Saleh said. “All of them have done a really nice job playing catch-up and putting themselves in a position to compete.”
Competing has been just what Tate has done in his early days, showing off speed and agility across both individual and team reps.
He and the Titans are looking to take a step forward this season, and with that comes pressure, but with pressure also comes diamonds.
“Pressure comes from doing good things all the time, so I mean, I’m used to it,” Tate said.
“I played at Ohio State, I played at the highest level, so I’m just going to go out there, continue to be who I am, and just go play football at the highest level… I didn’t surprise myself at all. At the end of the day, it’s just football. It’s just going out there and doing what I do best. We’re receivers, we get paid to catch the ball.”
A calm confidence in year number one for Tate, much like his quarterback, Cam Ward.
Both key pieces of the offense will take the field one more time on Wednesday for minicamp before a brief break in summer, and then it’s back to action in training camp at the end of July.
