Watch: Ohio State’s Carnell Tate raises NFL Draft stock with two big plays vs PSU

NFL teams looking for a wide receiver in the 2026 NFL Draft should have their eyes on Carnell Tate.  The Ohio State wide receiver showcased his NFL level talent in the team’s 38-14 win over Big 10 rival Penn State Saturday afternoon in a Week 10 battle.

Already one of the top prospects at the position, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound wide receiver showcases his dynamic ability to get open down the field on a couple of long ball connections between him and starting quarterback Julian Sayin who finished the game with 316 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. 

Carnell Tate just keeps producing

Most of that production was to the best duo of receiver in the nation in Tate and Jeremiah Smith who combined for 247 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns.  As Smith continued to show why he’s superhuman, Tate fascinated with his ability to take the top off the defense with a 45-yard TD reception from Sayin:

Later in the half, Sayin and Tate connected again, this time for a 57-yard reception in which Tate again got behind the defense:

Tate finished the game with 4 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown and really gave scouts a glimpse of his strengths as an NFL level talent.  Whether its route-running or reliability as a deep threat, Tate’s competitive edge makes up for his lack of elite speed.  But, as he showed in the highlight above, elite speed isn’t always necessary to get behind defenses.

Is Tate one of the best Ohio State receivers of all time?

With Smith on the other side, Tate is making it hard for defenses to double team either receiver.  Both have outstanding hands and an ability to get open. They are simply hard to defend, just ask Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith.

“Credit to those guys.  They’re the two best guys in the country,” Smith said following the game.  “Just watching these guys live – and I don’t mean this disrespectfully to the past Ohio State receivers, but these two are better than all of them, and those guys are all good.  They put it on film, and they were outstanding today.  We could not cover them.”

That is quite a nod to the duo considering what past Ohio State receivers like Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Terry McLaurin, Marvin Harrison Jr and Emeka Egbuka are doing in the NFL.  It’s more of a note to Tate who continues to emerge game in and game out as one of the top receivers entering the 2026 NFL Draft.  The question is will he be as elite if not more elite than those OSU receivers drafted ahead of him.

As it stands, Tate can go anywhere in the first round.  If he continues his flash through the rest of the season, it wouldn’t be surprising if he does get taken in the top 10.  As for his partner in crime, Jeremiah Smith already looks to be the top receiver in the 2027 NFL Draft.