Ohio State Wide Receiver Carnell Tate Has Great Hands

It’s like someone went into a lab at Ohio State and mixed Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Emeka Egbuka and came up with Carnell Tate.

Big compliment.

Yeah, I know.

And I really liked Wilson (2022 NFL Draft), Smith-Njigba (2023 NFL Draft), and Egbuka (2024 NFL Draft). I gave all three of them first-round grades, and when I was evaluating them, every time, I found myself saying, “I like this guy better than the last one.”

Am I saying the same thing about Tate?

I need to see his 2025 tape before I say.

But one thing is certain. Tate has the best hands of any Buckeyes’ receiver I’ve evaluated since 2021.

Wowser.

Tell me more about his hands

The most important trait a wide receiver has is his ability to catch the ball.

With that said ⎯

2024:

• 52 receptions
• 70 targets
• 74.2% catch rate

I’d even challenge if he missed on 18 targets and if those 18 passes were actually catchable. I counted one time the ball hit him in the hands and he dropped it, and that was against Texas in the college football playoffs.

Tate has the uncanny ability to reach up and pluck the ball out of the sky with his strong hands. He does it without his feet leaving the ground.

I like how he moves.

He makes it look effortless.

Where does he excel?

While Tate showed he can take the top off a defense, his forte is in the short-to-intermediate route range (0-19 yards).

Perfect.

That’s where most of the damage is done in the NFL passing game. He’ll fit right in.

Tate is a gifted route runner who has what it takes to win coming off the line scrimmage, and he excels at running slant and curl routes. He can either round off his routes and use his oversized frame to box out corners at the catch point, or he displays uncanny athletic ability to make quick and crisp changes of direction at the route breakpoints.

Sometimes, he’ll even start slower on a route to deceive the cornerback, and then hit the gas to get to where the ball is going to meet him.

Most impressive trait?

• Selflessness

Tate is also one of the better blocking wide receivers I’ve ever evaluated.

What was the most impressive play I saw sitting through his 15 games last season?

Was it a catch?

No.

Was it him running after a catch?

No.

It was this play when he hightailed it to get into position to block for his teammate.

Any negatives?

Scouting is all about identifying patterns, tendencies, and traits. I scoured the tape searching for consistent negative(s).

And I’ll say this ⎯

There wasn’t much I didn’t like. It took me 11 games to even write anything down in the negative column of my notes.

A couple of things worth mentioning: I wasn’t crazy about him on contested catches or in situations where the unexpected happened.

Consistency

Another thing I like about Tate:

• 3+ catches in 10/15 games (ESPN)

That also counts for a lot in my book.

#17 Carnell Tate 6-foot-3, 195 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s 2025 Fall Grade: First-Round (I would select him)

Projected by NFL Mock Draft Database to be a First-Round prospect as of September 18, 2025

2024 game film evaluated: Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall, Michigan State, Oregon, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, Northwestern, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report

A natural and smooth long strider who has the knack for creating throwing windows. Lines up inside or outside. Can motion pre-snap. Gets into routes. Achieves leverage. Has short-area acceleration coming out of his breakpoints. Sudden. Determined. Can physically power through corners who are trying to impede him. Glides. Fluid. Nimble. Twitchy. Good concentration and catch radius. Flexible. Can adjust. Aware. Will work back to his quarterback when he’s in trouble. Shifty and competitive after catches. Not the easiest to bring down. Takes what’s there and then some. Missed out on high-pointing a couple of deep passes vs. NW.

What to watch for during the 2025 college football season

1. Making contested catches downfield?

2. How does he look high-pointing the ball?

3. Consistent game-by-game production?

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. Featured in USA Today. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.