To most NFL fans, any draft that features a first-round graded wide receiver out of Ohio State is the right year to need a wide receiver. The Buffalo Bills are in that boat, needing more help at the position with former Buckeye Carnell Tate entrenched as one of the draft’s top receiver prospects.
The Bills' blistering need for another set of reliable hands in the offense has seen several mock draft artists suggest that general manager Brandon Beane should channel his aggression to trade up for the right to select Tate. I, and many other members of Bills Mafia, don’t agree with pursuing such a tactic.
Still, even without helmet-scouting Tate, he’s a tantalizing prospect. And if he can live up to the hype of his scouting reports, he’d prove his value as an impact player quickly. But every ounce of context matters when playing with millions of dollars.
Buffalo Bills’ potential draft-day trade-up for Carnell Tate faces caution from Buckeye context
Tate is just the latest Buckeye to stand atop a class of wide receivers. ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller recently took the opportunity to rank Tate as a prospect against the five most recent Buckeye wideouts to be selected in the first round, based on their pre-draft expectations. Miller ranked Tate at No. 4, putting him behind Marvin Harrison, Jr., reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson in that order.
That also means that Tate came in ahead of Chris Olave and Emeka Egbuka. Again, if Tate is better than those two, he’s worth a top-15 selection easily, and a team like Buffalo moving up to select him would be seen as genius so long as it works out positively.
However, it is worth considering the fact that the No. 1 receiver in Tate’s offense in Columbus was not listed. Jeremiah Smith is undoubtedly going to be the top receiver prize in the 2027 NFL Draft. He would undoubtedly be ahead of Tate on this list, and quite possibly above them all, considering his immediate impact as a true freshman two seasons ago and the consistency he’s displayed since.
It’s fair that Miller didn’t include Smith, but again, that adds context to the pursuit of Tate that should be taken into consideration for any team that values him in the first round of April’s draft. Tate does not have experience as a No. 1 receiver, nor does he have experience playing without an elite star opposite him in the offense. While Buffalo has a number one receiver now in D.J. Moore, Bills fans have to be realistic when asking themselves if Moore would take as much attention away from Tate as Smith did in college.
That said, the NFL hasn’t done a fantastic job in its evaluations of these Ohio State receivers anyway. Smith-Njigba was drafted the latest of the bunch, and so far, even after just one elite season, he’s looked the best of the bunch. In the same breath, Egbuka burst onto the scene as one of the most impactful rookie receivers in 2025. Meanwhile, Harrison was billed as a generational talent, but he’s floundered in Arizona so far.
Once he’s drafted, Tate’s story will write itself - and if it’s in Buffalo, Bills Mafia would have every reason to hold high expectations. He’s clearly talented and has traits any team in need of wide receiver help would love to have.
However, there’s already some writing on the wall with Tate as he compares to the other receivers from his campus. Why make such a drastic move for the guy who doesn’t stack up to his most comparable peers? It seems shortsighted to package together precious resources to pursue a receiver that highly in the draft who isn’t poised or proven to be an immediate No. 1 target at the NFL level.
The Bills are in a desperate mode at wide receiver, and they should leave the 2026 draft with a young, promising player ready to compete for playing time. Bills fans should be excited at the possibility, no matter how unlikely, that Tate could be that player. But that’s really only if his stock dips, and Buffalo doesn’t have to sell the farm to acquire him– which, again, is incredibly unlikely.