Carnell Tate declares for NFL Draft: Ohio State WR projects as first-round pick
Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, one of the nation’s top wide receivers, announced Tuesday that he will declare for the 2026 NFL Draft. Tate, a projected first-round pick, has caught 51 passes for 875 yards and nine touchdowns in 11 games this season for the Buckeyes, who were eliminated from the College Football Playoff in the quarterfinals last week by Miami.
Tate, who ranks fifth overall in CBS Sports’ NFL Draft prospect rankings, missed three games this season due to injury and finishes his college career with 121 catches for 1,872 yards and 14 touchdowns.
During the Buckeyes’ 2024 national championship run, he recorded 52 receptions for 733 yards and four touchdowns. The junior has reached 100 receiving yards in four games this season, including a nine-catch, 183-yard outburst against Minnesota in October.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, Tate is CBS Sports’ No. 2 wide receiver behind Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson. At Mike Renner most recent draftTate is the first wide receiver off the board, going to the Washington Commanders at No. 7 overall.
Last year, Ohio State became the first school to have a wide receiver drafted in the first round for four consecutive years with Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba plus Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave in 2022. The Buckeyes will likely go five straight years in April before Jeremiah Smith joins that group in 2027.
