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NFL Scouting Combine profile: Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
The NFL Scouting Combine has arrived in Indianapolis, with more than 300 college standouts set to go through position drills that you can stream live on DAZN with an NFL Game Pass subscription.
DAZN News is profiling the top prospects fans should know. In this edition, we turn the spotlight on Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate, breaking down his background, strengths, weaknesses and projected draft range.
Background
Hailing from the West Side of Chicago, Carnell Tate grew up in the infamous West Garfield Park neighbourhood, synonymous with violence and drug abuse. One of four children, Tate enjoyed a close family dynamic with his mother, Ashley, his father, Sean, and his three sisters, Re’asia, Re’niyah, and Akayla.
It became evident from an early age that Tate would excel at sports, particularly football, at which he starred for Marist High School. After his sophomore season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tate transferred to the famous IMG Academy in Florida in order to best prepare himself for college football.
A five-star recruit ranked the third-best receiver in the nation, Tate enjoyed close to forty scholarship offers from every blue-blood football program in America. Despite visits to LSU and Tennessee, Tate committed to Ohio State University, adding to the growing list of elite pass-catchers to call Columbus home.
Tate saw immediate gametime as a freshman, playing in all thirteen games for the Buckeyes. Assuming a starting role on the National Championship-winning team of 2024, Tate became one of the best playmakers in college football, racking up 1,600 yards and 13 touchdowns over the past two seasons.
Tate dedicated his college career to his mother, who was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting in Chicago in 2023. Describing her as his “best friend”, Tate would play something of a homecoming game at Wrigley Field against Northwestern the next year, honouring his mother with two touchdowns in front of his family.
Despite losing some playing time to injury, Tate finished his college career as an All-American for multiple outlets and a Biletnikoff Award semi-finalist. He heads to the NFL Draft as one of the consensus top prospects at his position.
Strengths
In terms of pure speed and ability to get in and out of breaks without losing velocity, not many prospects can compete with Carnell Tate. His natural agility was too much for most cornerbacks to cope with, eating up separation immediately off the snap before testing his opponent’s ability to match him stride for stride.
Tate is a polished product, the latest receiver to come off the Buckeye conveyor belt. Coached by Brian Hartline, he expertly leverages corners much in the same way that Emeka Egbuka, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Terry McLaurin and Garrett Wilson do. There is very little bust potential with this draft prospect.
A standout aspect of Tate’s game is his ball tracking skills. A true ‘Z’ receiver, Tate’s route tree would often be vertically focused, and his ability to maintain route discipline against the sidelines whilst under duress and haul in the football was exceptional throughout his college career.
Tate has worked hard on his craft and has taken care of the small things that add up to him being a serious problem to cover. Route running discipline, no wasted steps in and out of breaks, varying the tempo of his routes, understanding coverage concepts to sit in ‘soft spaces’ against zone; his game has it all.
Weaknesses
As you’d expect from a predicted first-round draft prospect, there isn’t any glaring hole in Carnell Tate’s game. He’s controlled the controllables, and any perceived shortcomings arise from his lean frame and the effect that has on the physical aspect of his game.
At 6’3” and just 195 lbs, Tate is a linear route runner who has less lower body torque than maybe desired for a number 1 receiver. This rarely showed up on tape, save for a handful of battles with more combative press corners who were able to disrupt his release at the line of scrimmage.
Ben Jackson / Stringer
Tate cannot be accused of not playing physical, but his contested catch rate at the next level will likely drop when playing elite cornerbacks who know how to disrupt the catch point with power. Similarly, Tate’s reliance on technique in run blocking will be challenged if he can’t match his opponents’ body strength.
The only other knock on Tate’s college career is his production levels. Never close to hitting 1,000 yards in a season, Tate sits behind other prospects in terms of volume.
Another concern would be the inconsistent nature of his production, with monster games matching quiet ones in equal measure.
Conclusion
Watching Carnell Tate’s tape is a real pleasure. A prospect who has obviously taken pride in honing his craft, Tate has the technique to match an unreal level of God-given athleticism that will cause fits for defensive backs at the next level.
In terms of pure outside receivers that can stretch a defense vertically, there’s no player in this draft class that’s his equal.
Tate may lack the size to offer any versatility when it comes to alignment, and scouts will wonder why he backed up a 183-yard performance against Minnesota with a 41-yard outing at Illinois last year.
But his character is off the charts, and he’s the epitome of a game breaker who has a touchdown in him every time he takes the field - a commodity worth its weight in gold in the NFL.
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