Carnell Tate selected fourth overall by Tennessee Titans in NFL Draft
COLUMBUS — Ohio State junior wide receiver Carnell Tate thrived in the Buckeyes wide receiver room. He’s now the latest superstar to go through the program and become a first-round draft pick at the wide receiver position.
Tate was selected No. 4 overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2026 NFL Draft.
He’s the first Buckeyes star to be selected Thursday night in a surprise move from the Titans, who were expected to take one of the Buckeyes defenders instead. They opted for Tate.
Despite missing three games with an injury in November, Tate caught 51 passes for 875 yards and nine touchdowns for the Buckeyes this year, becoming half of the best wide receiver tandem in the country alongside Jeremiah Smith. He spent three years playing significant time for the Buckeyes, catching 121 passes for 1,872 yards and 14 touchdowns in his college career.
He’s officially next in an incredibly long line of elite receiver talents to come out of Ohio State and into the NFL, joining now-pros Terry McLaurin (third-round pick, 2019), Parris Campbell (second-round pick, 2019), Chris Olave (first-round pick, 2022), Garrett Wilson(first-round pick, 2022), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (first-round pick, 2023), Marvin Harrison Jr. (first-round pick, 2024) and Emeka Egbuka (first-round pick, 2025), among others.
Harrison was the highest-drafted of all of them. Tate is now the second-highest-drafted receiver to come through the program in the recent run of incredible pass-catchers.
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Carnell Tate was the No. 41 overall player, the No. 8 wide receiver and No. 11 player in the state of Florida during his recruitment, when he chose the Buckeyes over Tennessee, Notre Dame and other top programs around college football.
And after three remarkable and productive years at Ohio State, he’s now the top wide receiver off the board in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Ohio State players still available in 2026 NFL Draft
+ EDGE Arvell Reese
+ LB Sonny Styles
+ SAF Caleb Downs
+ DT Kayden McDonald
+ TE Max Klare
+ CB Davison Igbinosun
+ TE Will Kacmarek
+ DE Caden Curry
+ DB Lorenzo Styles Jr.
+ DT Tywone Malone
+ RB CJ Donaldson
+ OT Ethan Onianwa
+ LB Joey Velazquez
+ K Jayden Fielding
+ LS Colin Johnson
+ LS John Ferlmann