The 2026 class of wide receivers is shaping up to be much better, and deeper, than expected.
Ohio State wideout Carnell Tate has finally emerged from the the long line of first round receivers being pumped out by Brian Hartline’s WR University. He took a big step forward as a starter, both as a possession receiver with 0 drops and an 87.5 percent win rate on contested catches, and as a big play threat with 17.2 yards per catch.
Tate has been very commonly linked to the New York Giants at fifth overall to fill a glaring need at wide receiver. The Giants’ top receiver, Malik Nabers, is returning from a torn ACL and the team lacks any other good, reliable options while also needing to build around QB Jaxson Dart.
What makes Tate the top receiver in the class, and is he The Guy for the Giants?
Prospect: Carnell Tate (17)
Games Watched: vs. Texas (2025), vs. Penn State (2025), vs. Minnesota (2025), vs. Michigan (2025), vs. Indiana (2025)
Red Flags: Undisclosed “Lower Body” injury (3 games, 2025)
Measurables
Strengths
Best traits
- Route running
- Mental Processing
- Football IQ
- Length
- Long speed
- Ball skills
- Blocking
Carnell Tate is a long, savvy, competitive, and versatile wide receiver prospect. Tate has good length for the position at 6-foot 2 ¾ inches, with 31 ¾ inch arms, and a wiry build that allows him to be a smooth, fluid, graceful athlete.
He is, first and foremost, a route technician who runs a full route tree from both the wide and slot receiver positions. Tate has an impressive package of release moves that allow him to easily get into his routes against man coverage and also wastes no energy against off-man or zone coverage. He is a smart and savvy route runner who understands both route concepts, including his role within them, as well as coverage structures.
Tate is a chess player on the field who consistently weaponizes every aspect of his routes. He uses his stride length and tempo, his exact pathing and timing, as well as subtle (or overt) head, shoulder, and body fakes to manipulate defenders. Tate works to set defenders up for his eventual break both on a rep-by-rep basis as well as over the course of the game. He also shows great awareness to find soft spots in zone coverage as well as to make himself available to his quarterback in scramble drills.
He has excellent spatial awareness, bending his route stems to expand the throwing window and understands exactly where he is on the field at any given moment. Tate consistently runs his routes past the sticks as a possession receiver and shows excellent body control to expand his catch radius or make circus catches along the sideline.
He has excellent ball skills, easily locating and tracking the ball in the air, making adjustments to underthrown or off-target passes, and plucking the ball out of the air away from his frame with big (10 ¼ inch) hands.
Tate has good speed in the open field, with his long strides eating up turf on vertical routes and as a ball carrier when he can find space for yards after the catch. His route running, speed, and length make him a threat at all three levels and a player who can be a safety blanket, a chain-mover, or a big-play option.
Finally, Tate is a remarkably gritty competitor, a completely selfless teammate, and offers fantastic effort playing without the ball. He runs his routes at full speed even when he isn’t in the read progression, often using his route running prowess to sell the route or stick to defensive backs and help create traffic. Likewise, he is a tenacious blocker on the perimeter and was often used as a “move” blocker on the play side by Ohio State’s offense.
He does a fantastic job of placing his hands to win inside leverage and leveraging defenders. Despite being a lean receiver, he’s able to wall them off defenders to create holes for both running backs and his fellow receivers. Tate strains to sustain his blocks and frequently looks to lay hits on defensive backs or even linebackers at the second level.
Weaknesses
Worst traits
- Mass
- Short area quickness
- Explosiveness
There are very few true weaknesses in Tate’s game, and most of those that exist are mostly related to how his traits should – or shouldn’t – be employed.
The single biggest weakness in Tate’s profile is his overall lack of mass. He has a lean, lanky build at 6-foot 2 ¾ inches, 192 pounds, and while that allows him to be more fluid than most receivers his height, he lacks the overall size to physically dominate defenders. He isn’t a weak receiver by any means, however he can be displaced by bigger defenders as both a blocker and at the catch point. Likewise, he shouldn’t be asked to block linebackers or hybrid safeties.
Tate’s height can also limit him on some particularly sharp breaking routes. While still very precise, they are occasionally a bit rounded and he needs a step or two to gather himself when working back to the ball. That can also make his long speed more of the “build up” variety than explosive. He also needs to work on not turning his head to find the ball quite so early in vertical routes. That can slow his route some and allow defensive backs to close on the catch point.
Game Tape
(Carnell Tate is the Ohio State wide receiver wearing number 17 and high white socks.)
Projection
Carnell Tate projects as a starting wide receiver with scheme and alignment versatility at the NFL level.
Tate doesn’t quite have prototypical measurements, and doesn’t look like a classic big, muscular Air Coryell “X” receiver. However his technical savvy will allow him to play all over the offensive formation as well as in any offense commonly called at the NFL level.
He is a smart, pro-ready receiver who can be a threat at all three levels of the field and an immediate contributor as a dependable option with big-play upside. Coaches will also love that Tate is an unselfish player who helped his teammates however he could in an offense that spread the ball around and looked elsewhere even when he was the best option.
Tate should hear his name called very early in the first round and has the upside to be Offensive Rookie of The Year.
Does he fit the Giants? Yes
Final Word: A high first round pick
See More:
