Robert Saleh on the Next Step for Titans WR Carnell Tate

It's been great to see Tennessee Titans receiver Carnell Tate have success this season. 

He was recently named the Offensive Rookie of the Month for October after recording 298 receiving yards and one touchdown. 

He has been improving every week and is a focal point of the offense, much like the Titans were hoping he would be in his first season. The decision to take him No. 4 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft has paid off so far. 

He wasn't able to play in the Week 8 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals due to a shoulder injury. The Titans responded well in his absence, spreading the ball around and getting players like Gunnar Helm and Chimere Dike more involved. 

The Titans lost a close game 43-36 game on the road. 

Tate is currently third in rookie receiving yards and receptions (34) heading into Week 10. He had the lead before the weekend's games but didn't get the chance to continue adding to his stats since the Titans had a bye in Week 9. 

Still, Tate is one of the favorites to win Offensive Rookie of the Year with nine games left to play. He's had positive growth, yet there are still things Tate can be better at. 

Titans head coach Robert Saleh gave his thoughts at Monday's press conference. He thought the main thing Tate could improve on was his ball security. One thing that Saleh did notice Tate had improved on from college was his yards after the catch. 

"As far as Carnell goes, you know, he's had some ball security things pop up over the course of the year," Saleh said. "So, that's going to be a bad area of emphasis for him. I think he's done a really nice job understanding how to transition to find junk yards after run after catch. Once he catches the ball, he's getting better at that, which I think there's still so much more to go, which has been an emphasis for him since he got here. His run after catch and yards after catch from college was something that we felt like he was leaving some meat on the bone with some of the techniques he was using. And I think he's improved that. But now it's as you get vertical, protect the football." 

Tate has lost two fumbles this season. 

His first was in Week 4 against the Baltimore Ravens. The Titans were down 21-7 just before halftime, and the team desperately needed points since the Ravens were going to get the ball to start the third quarter. 

Cam Ward connected with Tate on a 50/50 ball, and he lost his coverage. Then, Kyle Hamilton hit the ball out of Tate's hands from behind and the Ravens recovered. The play would have gotten the Titans close to field goal range if Tate had hung on to the ball. 

Those ball security issues came up again in Week 7 against the Cleveland Browns. The Titans were down 17-14 and trying to regain momentum after blowing a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. 

Ward found Tate for a first down, but he fumbled after being hit by Tyson Campbell and Ronnie Hickman. 

Tate's fumbles have come at inopportune times, but the good news is that there is plenty of time for him to learn from these mistakes. 

There's no doubt that Tate will be excited to get back out there with his teammates in Week 10 after not playing for two weeks. 

Tate and the Titans take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium this Sunday at noon CT on CBS.