Saints quarterback Tyler Shough praises elite Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate, highlighting a history of successful Buckeye draftees.
The New Orleans Saints are a trending name for one potential draft pick. They are trending because the elite prospect expressed interest in playing for the team.
Carnell Tate has been vocal about where he would like to go. We have noted that he shared that if he had to choose, he would like to catch passes from Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen or New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.
Shough shared his thoughts on the Saints adding Tate to Kay Adams of the "Up & Adams Show." He gave his response on whether or not he should show Saints general manager Mickey Loomis what Tate had to say about catching passes from Shough.
“I'm sure, I'm sure they are aware. They're doing their due diligence with all those guys. It'll be interesting. It'll be interesting. I know there's a lot of great prospects. I mean, who knows, who knows what position and, uh, but yeah, I think we, we can definitely add a playmaker like him for sure. ... I mean, what he's been able to do at Ohio State, I think we got the proof of having a really good Ohio State receiver on roster already. So, um, you can't go wrong there.”
The Saints' affinity for drafting Ohio State receivers did not start with current star Chris Olave. Before the team added the elite receiver to its roster, New Orleans once added another Buckeye pass catcher in Michael Thomas. Because they have had such great success with Ohio State receivers, it's uncertain why the team's draft trend would stop there.
Obviously, the big hurdle may be whether or not Tate falls to New Orleans' No. 8 pick. Several teams may want to draft a receiver in the talent laden 2026 wide receiver class and a couple of those teams may draft in the first seven picks. Nevertheless, it's evident that there is mutual respect between Saints players and the Ohio State player.
Do the comments of Shough and Tate mean anything of significance? Maybe they don't. There's always the possibility the Saints view another player as the best available even should Tate fall to the No. 8 pick. That does not mean that New Orleans is not high on the player's ability, but simply that they were higher on another player's skillset.
Regardless, the comments hint at the already strong possibility that if he does fall to No. 8, New Orleans could certainly draft him. We will have the answer when the Saints draft in April.