Carnell Tate returned to practice on Friday

Tate apparently took a hard hit during Monday’s practice, but coach Robert Saleh said Tate’s stiffness is unrelated. The first-round rookie wide receiver had a good showing in spring practices, but may currently be behind slot WR Wan’Dale Robinson in the target pecking order. As is the case with many rookie wide receivers, Tate’s production could be back-weighted toward the end of the season this year.

Davenport penned a lengthy piece detailing how OC Brian Daboll is focused on developing QB Cam Ward’s play on third down, in the red zone and in the two-minute drill. This is pretty straightforward. Those are all high-leverage situations, so harping on Ward’s performance there makes sense. Robinson played on all three drives in the Titans’ first preseason game while veteran Calvin Ridley was on the field for one. Rookie WR Carnell Tate was on the field for the first and third drives. A featured role on third downs could help Robinson return FLEX value — he’s certainly being paid like he is going to be featured.

Cam Ward played three series, but Tate was most active on the opening drive, playing 10-of-11 snaps (via NFL Network’s Michael F. Florio). The goose egg looks disappointing, of course, but it is utterly inconsequential. Slightly more concerning has been a hype-free start to Titans camp for the No. 4 overall pick, though he has been lauded for a few highlight plays of late. Emphasis on “a few,” we guess. It’s hard to muster too much concern, but then again, this was always likely to be a bumpy road for the Titans’ revamped offense this season. Tate is a WR3/4 with plenty of upside but “slow start” risk to match.

This is a tall task for the shortest wide receiver to ever reach 1,000 yards in a single season. That said, Robinson and new Titans OC Brian Daboll spent the last four seasons together with the Giants, so Robinson is intimately familiar with the offensive scheme, and he added a vertical element to his route tree last year. Titans rookie WR Carnell Tate is his primary target competition and as Arvin notes, “Robinson should find favorable matchups working from the slot.” Robinson finished as the PPR WR14 last season, yet he is being drafted as a borderline WR4/5 in best ball. Even if Robinson ends up being Tate’s sidekick, this looks like a dip worth buying right now.

We expect first-round picks to shine in these environs, so this is not necessarily a surprise, but Glennon notes that the same could not be said for the Titans’ last first-round wide receiver, Treylon Burks. Titans QB Cam Ward complimented Tate’s hands and ability to win against man coverage. Fellow WR Wan’Dale Robinson said Tate “had a really good day and was just making some incredible catches.” Tate has a chance to be WR3/FLEX-viable right away.

The deal is fully guaranteed and includes a signing bonus worth more than $33.6 million. Tate, 21, is expected to step into the Titans’ No. 1 wide receiver role right away and can be treated as a WR3/FLEX in spring drafts. He posted a 44/793/8 receiving line in his third and final season at Ohio State last year, while averaging 3.52 yards per route run.

Although he never reached 1,000 yards during his three years in the Buckeyes’ perennially loaded receiver corps, Tate (6’2/192) emerged as one of college football’s cleanest perimeter separators last season. The now 21-year-old turned 67 targets into 51 receptions for 875 yards (17.2 YPR) and nine touchdowns with a 76.1 percent catch rate. That’s eye-popping efficiency. Tate was particularly lethal downfield, converting 11 deep receptions into six scores, posting a zero percent drop rate in the process. Tate’s ability to consistently create explosive gains was reflected in his 85.7 percent contested-catch rate and top-tier 147.7 passer rating when targeted deep. He provided true three-level value. Tate also showed strong situational reliability, posting 35 first down conversions on 51 receptions, a 68.6 percent chain-moving rate. On the whole, he averaged a stellar 3.03 yards per route run, torching man (3.12 yards per route run) and zone coverage (2.71) alike. With polished ball skills, pro-ready route pacing, down-field economy, and no glaring usage red flags, Tate projects as a high-floor, high-efficiency NFL X/Z hybrid who can immediately step into a starting role to help Cam Ward and an offense that finished 30th in scoring last season.

Vacchiano adds that the team knows they need a wide receiver and “did a lot of work on” Ohio State WR Carnell Tate. Both players took top-30 visits with the Commanders and are viewed as potential top-10 picks. The pick could simply come down to which player is on the board when the team picks at No. 7 overall. The Commanders focused on improving the pass defense in free agency, but they could still benefit from adding a player like Styles. Vacchiano notes, Ohio State S Caleb Downs “might be in the mix, too.”

Jeremiah also thinks Ohio State S Caleb Downs’ odds of being drafted in the top 10 are greater than 50.0 percent. He adds that Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald will be drafted between picks 25 and 35. Jeremiah’s colleague, Ian Rapoport, said last week that he believes Tate will be drafted in the top 15. Sounds like his stock is ticking upward.

The Commanders held a big pre-draft Top 30 visit Tuesday, with many top prospects heading to Top Golf as part of a group outing of over 20 players. Holding the No. 7 pick in the draft, the Commanders have quite the list of visiting prospects, though it is absent quarterbacks with Jayden Daniels firmly holding down that position. In addition to top offensive players in Tate, Lemon and Love, the Commanders also hosted top defensive players in Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese and Rueben Bain. What Washington does with the pick is still up in the air, though now nearly an entire round’s worth of prospects can say they’ve played Top Golf in the DMV area.