INDIANAPOLIS — During media availability at the NFL scouting combine, draft prospects often field question after question about which teams interviewed them and what they would think of playing in those cities. Carnell Tate’s session Friday at the Indiana Convention Center took a slightly differ ent slant. What would it be like to play with former Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson? How would you like playing with former OSU receiver Chris Olave? And how about playing with former Buckeye Terry McLaurin? The line of questioning could keep going. Tate, the Chicago native who played his freshman season at Marist High School before going to IMG Academy in Florida, is projected to become the sixth Ohio State receiver in five years to be selected in the first round. Wilson and Olave were picked 10th and 11th in 2022. NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba went 20th in 2023. Marvin Harrison Jr. was the No. 4 pick in 2024. And Emeka Egbuka went 19th in 2025, marking the first time in the common draft era that one school had wide receivers picked in the first round in four straight years, according to ESPN. McLaurin was drafted in the third round in 2019. And the list doesn’t include Jameson Williams, the No. 12 pick in 2022, who began his college career at Ohio State before transferring to Alabama. “It means a lot to me, and it’s also a lot on your shoulders,” Tate said. “You have to be the next one to come out there and put on for the school and carry on Receiver U.” Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate runs a route against Minnesota on Oct. 4, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete) According to draft analysts Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network and Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN, Tate could go higher than all but Harrison, despite being the Buckeyes’ No. 2 receiver last season next to rising junior Jeremiah Smith, a two-time All-American and Big Ten receiver of the year. With Smith set for another year in Columbus, Ohio, both analysts have Tate as the top receiver in this draft. Jeremiah projects Tate to go to the New York Giants at No. 5. Kiper’s latest mock draft has Tate going to the Cleveland Browns at No. 6. Both project USC’s Makai Lemon as the second wide receiver off the board. Both projections were before Tate went through his combine workouts Saturday. He didn’t separate himself with his 40-yard-dash time, clocking 4.53 seconds, better than only a handful of other receivers who ran. But Jeremiah saw different from Tate in games. “He can really gain ground and get up top and can be a home-run hitter while also having the fluidity and the flexibility to run any route you need to run,” Jeremiah said during his combine media availability. “To me, where JSN is going to catch 100-plus balls, I view him as someone who is probably going to catch 70, 80 balls, but he’s going to have a high yards per catch and is going to be someone in the red zone who can really make plays.” Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Indianapolis. (Michael Conroy/AP) The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Tate embraced the expectations Friday morning at the combine. When asked who the best receiver in the draft is, he answered, “Me, no question.” “My game brings it all to the table,” he said. “I’ve got the contested catch. I’ve got the route running. And I also bring it in the run game. A lot of receivers don’t do that. I’m able to impact the game with or without the ball in my hands.” Tate, who said he learned to fight hard for himself growing up in the “tough city” of Chicago, worked his way up the ranks among the glut of talent at Ohio State. He had 18 catches for 264 yards as a freshman and 52 catches for 733 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore. Despite missing three games with a lower leg injury as a junior, he had 51 catches for 875 yards — 17.2 per catch — and nine touchdowns. Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate celebrates after a touchdown against Michigan on Nov. 29, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Luke Hales/Getty Images) He said he “completely changed my game around” in 2025, showcasing his ability to stretch the field and make contested catches and improving his route running and run blocking. “When you throw the ball in the air, I know Carnell is coming down with it,” Ohio State running back CJ Donaldson said at the combine Friday. “It’s definitely a blessing to play with him and Jeremiah Smith. Those two guys were just amazing to watch this year.” Despite ranking second behind Smith (87 catches, 1,243 yards, 12 touchdowns), Tate thinks he showed NFL teams what he could do with his opportunities. “If you want a game changer, you’ve got one right here,” he said. The atmosphere among the wide receivers at Ohio State helped drive Tate and his teammates. “The competition there, we were all pushing to be the best receiver on the field that day and that practice,” Tate said. “And typically when you’re the best receiver at Ohio State, you’re the best receiver in the country. We all have high expectations for each other, always pushing each other to be better.” Jeremiah said NFL coaches rave about what they have gotten from ex-Buckeyes under former Ohio State wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, who left in December to become South Florida’s head coach. Then-Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline during warmups before a game against Michigan on Nov. 29, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Luke Hales/Getty Images) Jeremiah said Hartline pairs elite recruiting with exceptional development. “I would say polished, professional,” Jeremiah said of Hartline’s receivers. “They’ve all been really smart. But from a development standpoint, they are so far ahead of everybody else that is coming from these other places. “He has instilled in them a professionalism, a work ethic. It’s hard to see those guys not being successful for how they’ve been trained.” Tate said Ohio State “made me a better man off the field and a better player on the field.” In July before his freshman season, Tate endured the loss of his mother, Ashley Griggs, to a drive-by shooting in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood. Among the lessons he learned from his team, he said Friday, was “how to be there for one another.” On the field, Tate said the Buckeyes took his game to the next level. He called it a “blessing” to potentially be the latest in Ohio State’s line of first-round receivers. “They inspired me,” Tate said. “They’re playing at the highest level at a high level. I would love to be like them. I look up to all those guys.” ...read more read less