While the NFL season is set to officially begin this Thursday in Philadelphia between the Eagles and Cowboys, college football has begun already and NFL front offices are scouting the talent that could be coming into the league next year. The biggest and anticipated game that a lot of fans were looking forward to was Texas taking on Ohio State in Columbus.
Instead of a high scoring battle, just 21 total points were scored as the Buckeyes took down the Longhorns, winning 14-7. One Buckeye that found himself in the endzone was wide receiver Carnell Tate who led the team in receiving yards (49) off of just two receptions.
At 6-foot-3 and 195lbs, Tate is a big receiver who is coming off a strong 2024 season that helped the Buckeyes win the national championship over Notre Dame. If he repeats some success he had last season, don’t be surprised if he becomes an NFL draft prospect that catches the attention of scouts and general managers.
The Buffalo Bills have been a team that has been criticized about their wide receiver room, yet they are coming off of last season as one of the best offensive teams despite not having a true No. 1 receiver. They have invested in the room with Keon Coleman (No. 33 overall in 2024), signing Joshua Palmer this offseason, and extending Khalil Shakir to a four-year deal.
However, some people still believe that the Bills need to give Josh Allen a true go-to weapon. Could Tate be that guy for the Bills come next April?
2026 NFL mock draft has Bills landing WR Carnell Tate from OSU
Sayre Bedinger from NFL Spin Zone recently put together a 2026 NFL mock draft now that the Micah Parsons-to-Green Bay trade has been finalized, and at No. 30 overall the Bills select Tate out of Ohio State. Here’s a bit on what Bedinger said about Tate:
"Do the Bills have an every-down target eater? Do they need one?Sayre Bedinger, NFL Spin Zone
I would argue they absolutely do, and that’s where someone like Carnell Tate could come into play. The Ohio State program is always going to have receivers drawing first-round attention because of how great those guys have been at the NFL level in recent years, and Tate could be one of the next ones, even if he’s not going to get the same level of hype as someone like Jeremiah Smith."
It’s highly unlikely that the Bills could have the chance to land someone like Jeremiah Smith, Tate’s teammate and looks like he will be an immediate star in the NFL. However, the Buckeyes have developed some of the NFL’s best young receivers in the game right now like Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Not to mention, Terry McLaurin has been solid in Washington and Emeka Egbuka could thrive in Tampa Bay as a rookie.
If Tate does have a great 2025 season and could be in contention to being a later first-round prospect, it would be hard for the Bills to ignore the idea of potentially bringing him to Buffalo next April if they still need to improve their wide receiver room.