2026 NFL Draft: Why Carnell Tate ‘No Doubt’ Is the Best WR in the Class

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They tore the helmet off his head, but they couldn’t get the ball out of his hands. Two Wisconsin defenders could not stop Carnell Tate, who stood up and screamed in the end zone after catching a 33-yard touchdown pass to start Ohio State’s 34-0 rout of the Badgers last October. It was a touchdown that, technically, Tate shouldn’t have scored. It should’ve been fellow OSU receiver Brandon Inniss’ TD. And yet when Inniss went down with an injury, then-Buckeyes offensive coordinator Brian Hartline did not hesitate to move Tate into the slot — just for one play — to make sure the execution was perfect. And that’s a testament to Tate, not just because the execution was perfect, but also because … “He never practiced that play,” Hartline, now the head coach at South Florida, told me earlier this month. “He may have seen it in practice, and he saw the other guys do it. But then you put him in the game and competitive excellence. The ball goes his way. He makes a huge play. So that’s him as a player. He’s always reliable to be put in the big spots.” Tate played in the slot during his freshman year in 2023, seizing an opportunity to get on the field after star receiver Emeka Egbuka suffered an injury. But since that point, Tate has been a perimeter receiver, which was why he hadn’t practiced that play prior to scoring the touchdown. “Coach [Ryan] Day was like, ‘Hey, what do we do? Brandon’s down. Where do you put who?’” Hartline recalled. “And I just said, ‘Listen, put Carnell in the slot. He’ll know how to do it. He’ll do a great job on the route. We’re good. Stay with the call.’ … We got a coverage that was good for us, and he went up and made a huge play over some defenders for a touchdown.” Tate is prepared for big spots — even when he shouldn’t be. That’s one of many positive qualities the team that drafts the 6-foot-2, 192-pound receiver will get. But whichever team wants him the most, it’ll surely have to be picking in one of the top 10 spots on Thursday night. “I do it all,” Tate told me in Portland at the Adidas “Pro Day” in March. “I run [routes], I block and I catch the ball. I run routes to get open at the highest level. I make contested catches, make good catches over the middle, and I go over top of people. Also, I add to the run game as well. I can impact the game with or without the ball.” Is he the best receiver in this year’s draft? “Yessir. No doubt,” Tate told me. No hesitation whatsoever. “I think it’s because of those things [I just mentioned] and also because of more of that,” he added. “I feel like I’m the most intelligent receiver out there as well.” Though Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson is emerging as potentially the No. 1 receiver in this year’s class, it’s not all that controversial for Tate to stake his claim. And it’s no surprise who Hartline is backing, calling Tate “by far the best receiver in this draft.” Ironically, Tate wasn’t the WR1 at any point during his Buckeyes career. Ohio State bestowed that honor to Jeremiah Smith in 2025 and in 2024 and to Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2023. Egbuka was also firmly in the mix with more than 1,000 receiving yards in 2022 and 2024. “[Tate] really wanted to be the guy. All the guys do,” Hartline told me. “When you have a lot of guys in those rooms, sometimes it really makes you a better player when you understand the whole philosophy and where the ball goes. But I think he grew a ton as a person.” You can see the way Tate progressed simply by looking at the raw counting stats. He jumped from 18 catches, 264 yards and one touchdown in 2023 to 52 catches for 733 yards and four touchdowns in 2024. Then in 2025, he had 51 catches for 875 yards and nine touchdowns. It’s not staggering production. But his teammates never took him for granted. “He’s a big-time receiver who’s gonna make a big play every day,” Ohio State All-American edge Arvell Reese told me. Tate’s draft prospects are a reminder of just how impressive he was in college — despite never being the top target. At Ohio State, that made for tough conversations when he battled to rise even into a WR3 spot in his sophomore year. Hartline and Tate spoke often about how to make it all work. “I think that there’s a lot of honesty. … I’m not gonna lie to the guys. And so if I tell you you’re on track, and you just trust me on it, then that’s the case,” Hartline told me when asked how he managed Tate’s expectations. “I want everyone to have everything, because then there’s no hard conversations. But ultimately, he was on pace. Keep trusting the process and the rest will take care of itself.” He added: “Happens all the time, right?” Not to everyone. It’s mostly true for the Ohio State locker room, which is a big reason why Hartline is set to start his first season as the head coach for USF. Before Smith, Tate, Egbuka and Harrison Jr., there was Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. Hartline has continued to produce elite pass-catchers, with Tate appearing to be next in line. This OSU assembly line has created a pro-ready mentality. Not only will these players sharpen each other’s skills off the field, but they’ll have the self-assurance and self-discipline to fight their way to the top of a pro-caliber depth chart. “They’re surrounding themselves with great players, and although frustrating, it’s going to be frustrating in the league too. Better get ready for it,” Hartline said. “So understanding that, we always want more [production], but that’s not how this works. They do a really good job at our job description on each individual play.” Whether Tate lands in Cleveland, Kansas City or any of the other top-10 slots, he’ll have to beat out tough competition for a top starting spot. But there’s little doubt he’ll do just that. He’ll do what it takes to make an impact, even if that means jumping into a position he’s never practiced — and on the play that matters most.