Carnell Tate Could Fix the Titans Offense; Here’s Why

Since the NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans have had a lot of buzz surrounding their fourth-overall pick, Carnell Tate. Questions about whether he can be a No. 1 receiver or if he should’ve been the pick in general have plagued outlets and pundits alike.

The one thing that hasn’t been addressed is, if Tate is just what the doctor ordered in Nashville?

Conventional wisdom would say no. He is a second-fiddle receiver with big play ability and less than elite production at the collegiate level. He ran a rather average 4.53 forty-yard dash and isn’t a flashy personality.

These are the negatives that would deter any fan or football analyst from leaning into Tate as a true game changer for Tennessee. When you dive deeper, he is actually the remedy to a lot of the Titans issues.

Tennessee had issues converting on third downs last season, posting a 31.9% conversion rate. Their leaders in receiving first downs were Elic Ayomanor with 30 and Chig Okonkwo with 24 respectively.

All things being equal,Tate’s 34 first downs last year in college would have led the team last year.

Going further than that, his 17.2 yards per reception mark would’ve also led the Titans in 2025, besting Calvin Ridley’s 15.6 yard mark.

Outside of the raw receiving statistics, he will also have an impact on quarterback Cam Ward’s success on the field.

Ward was truly up and down due to less than favorable personnel around him in year one. Despite that, he still managed to post one of the best precision pass percentages on 20-plus yard passes in the league (the 8th best mark among qualified quarterbacks).

The issue was the Titans were 26th in the NFL in drops in that metric.

Tate only posted five drops in his collegiate career, having a career best zero in 2025. He also excelled on deep routes, catching 64.7% of those targets with nine of them being over 40 yards.  He also converted six of those targets into touchdowns.

This will not only help Ward, it will also instantly upgrade the production of Tennessee’s offense in that area.

As far as the question about him being a No. 1 receiver, he has a very good comparison to a former top pick who went to his Alma mater – Joey Galloway.

Galloway totaled 92 receptions for 1641 yards and 17 touchdowns in his career at Ohio State, never eclipsing 1,000 yards in a season. He was also the outright top receiver once in his career (his junior year). Despite that, he went on to be drafted 8th overall in 1995 by the Seattle Seahawks and played a total of 16 seasons, mostly as a highly productive receiver.

It’s no way of knowing if he will play 16 seasons, but he and Galloway’s journeys to the NFL are very similar. Questioning his ability to be the top receiver should be an afterthought as he has all the tools to be one of the best in the league.

This young man has the skillset and should be just what the Titans need to turn the corner into a contender.