Carnell Tate’s elite ability to shatter press coverage provides a reliable escape valve for Cam Ward, fixing the league-worst separation issues that derailed Tennessee’s passing attack.
The Tennessee Titans were in a tight spot at No. 4 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft after Jeremiyah Love went No. 3 to the Arizona Cardinals.
General Manager Mike Borgonzi stuck to his strategy of taking the best player available, selecting Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate. The pick was criticized because both Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese were still on the board.
However, Tate was, without a doubt, the next-best offensive prospect in the draft behind Love.
He brings his expertise as a deep threat on the outside, which isn't something the Titans have had in recent years. Tate also has an excellent route tree in his skillset.
There's another thing that Tate brings to the table for the Titans, and it's a big plus for young quarterback Cam Ward. Ward showed a lot of promise in the second half of 2025, but he struggled when targeting receivers.
Ward had a yards-per-attempt of 6.4, a completion percentage of 54%, and his receivers had 13 drops. In all of those stats, Ward ranked toward the bottom three in the league last season.
This is where Tate comes into play.
His ability to win against press coverage is more important to the Titans than first anticipated. According to ESPN's Bill Barnwell, Ward found open receivers when the Titans' wideouts were pressed at the line of scrimmage 17% of the time.
Tate will take some pressure off the young quarterback with his ability to beat press coverage and create plays. This should help out receivers like Calvin Ridley and Wan'Dale Robinson as well.
"He fixes something that was a really big weakness for Tennessee last year, and that was their ability to separate from tight coverage," Barnwell said. "So, when teams were pressing Tennessee's receivers last year at the line of scrimmage, Cam Ward only found an open receiver 17% of the time. That was the worst rate in football per the Next Gen Stats. So, with Carnell Tate now, you're taking a piece away from opposing defensive coordinators. They knew in key situations last year they could just press those receivers, and they were gonna win most of the time. Now, you have a guy who can separate against man coverage, separate against press, win at the line of scrimmage, and then create intermediate and downfield yards after the catch."
Tennessee's receiving corps looks much different from what it did last year. The Titans now have Ridley, Tate, and Robinson as the starters, with Chimere Dike, Elic Ayomanor, Xavier Restrepo, Mason Kinsey, Hal Presley III, Bryce Oliver, Tyren Montgomery, Lance McCutcheon, K.J. Osborn, and Hank Beatty as the reserves.
Last season, Ward was throwing to Ridley, Van Jefferson, Ayomanor, Dike, Tyler Lockett and Oliver.
With Tate, the Titans just upgraded at receiver even further. If he lives up to expectations, that pick at No. 4 is going to look better and better down the road.