However, his former teammate and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka has pushed back against that idea.
“We can see the correlation,” Egbuka said during his recent appearance on Up & Adams Show. “I mean, that was the same talk that was about me when I was coming out of the draft. So, at the end of the day, it’s all semantics. If you can play football, you can play football. And Carnell Tate can play football. So, we’re going to see what he can do come September.”
“That was the same talk about me when I was coming out of the draft… It’s all semantics”
Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka responds to claims that former teammate Carnell Tate was never a WR1 in college
@carnelltate | @OhioStateFB | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/asxWNwOPtK
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) May 6, 2026
It’s well documented that Tate spent most of his college career behind elite receivers. Last season, he was the WR2 behind Jeremiah Smith. Back in 2024, Tate operated more as the third option behind both Smith and Egbuka. So naturally, there’s a belief that at the NFL level, he’ll need to grow into a role he hasn’t consistently had before.
At the same time, new Titans head coach Robert Saleh has made it clear that optimism alone won’t guarantee anything. Saleh recently addressed Tate’s situation and emphasized that the rookie still has to earn his place.
“He’s got to compete; he has got to prove that he belongs. He’s got to [show] that he deserves the ball, and it’s going to start day one once he gets here,” the head coach said.
The Titans are also entering an important season with Ward now heading into Year 2. The quarterback struggled as a rookie, largely because Tennessee never truly had a reliable go-to target in an offense that ranked third-worst in the NFL in scoring at 16.7 points per game. The receiving corps dealt with drops, inconsistent separation, and injuries throughout the year.
Former All-Pro Calvin Ridley had a disappointing 2025 season, missing 10 games with injuries and averaging just 43.3 receiving yards per game when available. Meanwhile, the Titans’ leading receiver, tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo, finished with 560 receiving yards before later signing with the Washington Commanders in free agency.
Tennessee did add Wan’Dale Robinson after his 1,000-yard season with the New York Giants, but the Titans still need Tate to become an important part of the receiver room if Ward is going to take the next step. And eventually, Tate may have to do exactly what Egbuka ended up doing during his own rookie season.
That’s partly why Egbuka’s comments carry some weight here. His career at Ohio State followed a very similar path in a loaded receiver room. As a freshman, he was mostly a backup because the Buckeyes already had stars like Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
In 2022, he broke out alongside Marvin Harrison Jr., though Harrison was still widely viewed as the WR1. By 2023, Harrison clearly became the featured receiver, while Egbuka shifted more into the WR2 role again.
It wasn’t until his senior season in 2024 that Egbuka finally entered the year as Ohio State’s experienced lead receiver after Harrison left for the NFL. Yet even after the Buccaneers selected him 19th overall, questions still followed him about whether he could truly operate as a WR1 at the pro level.
In fact, WalterFootball’s scouting report specifically noted that “In the NFL, Egbuka would fit best as a No. 2 receiver paired with a true No. 1.” Still, Egbuka always had the traits teams look for in a lead target. And once injuries hit Tampa Bay’s receiver room, he got the opportunity to prove it.
Mike Evans missed most of the season after suffering a broken clavicle and appeared in just eight games. Chris Godwin also went down with a fibula injury and played only nine games during the 2025 season. With both veterans sidelined, Egbuka stepped up and finished his rookie year with 63 receptions for 938 yards and six touchdowns.
So when Egbuka says Carnell Tate can flat-out play football and expresses confidence in his rookie season, it doesn’t come across as empty praise. If anything, it sounds like someone who went through the same conversation himself after entering the league. Still, the noise around whether Tate can be a true WR1 option isn’t going away anytime soon.
Malik Nabers doesn’t consider Carnell Tate a WR1 option
Having played behind Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Jeremiah Smith, it was always going to be difficult for Carnell Tate to fully establish himself as a true WR1 at Ohio State. Even so, the Titans never hesitated when they selected him with the fourth overall pick. As that conversation unfolded, however, the Giants’ wide receiver Malik Nabers acknowledged Tate’s talent, but also made it clear that he doesn’t currently view him as a WR1.
“He’s a very talented player. Like you said, can high-point the ball. But, he’s going to do tremendous in Coach Daboll’s offense,” Nabers said. “But I don’t think this is a draft to take a receiver that high. That’s high for a receiver. No. I don’t see him being a No. 1. He hasn’t been a No. 1 on the team that he has been on.”
Tate ultimately became the first Ohio State player selected in the opening round of a draft class that produced four picks within the first 11 selections.
Still, his selection at No. 4 by the Titans has continued to draw skepticism, largely because he never consistently operated as the clear-cut WR1 at Ohio State. Whether he proves those doubts wrong during his rookie season is something that will start unfolding once September arrives.
