NFL
Draft Shock Brewing? Carnell Tate No Longer Locked as First WR Off the Board
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2026 NFL Scouting Combine - Portraits by Logan Bowles | Getty Images
A year ago not many experts were calling for Tet McMillan to be the first wide receiver taken in the weeks and months leading up the draft, but the Panthers grabbed him in the top 10.
And for much of the pre-draft process this season, Ohio State’s Carnell Tate was considered the best receiver in this class and the only one worthy of consideration in the top 10.
Now that the draft is just a few days away, there are several top execs in the NFL who could envision scenarios in which Tate, will still definitely a top-half-of-the-first-round prospect, could end up being the third receiver to come off the board.
Hamstrung By A Hamstring?
Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson has been incredibly productive when he’s played in college, but injuries are a huge part of his story, and he still is not fully healthy.
Tyson did hold a workout for NFL teams last week, which was heavily attended, and the reports were largely favorable and he continues to pick up steam as a top-10 pick.
“We got a very favorable report on him,” said one NFL general manager who could end up drafting a receiver in the first round.
“He looked good. But it’s not like he’s full-go now. He’s still limited. The hamstring issue isn’t something you can just look beyond. There’s a history.”
Not much is being said about USC’s Makai Lemon these days, but we continue to hear multiple front offices believe he could be the best receiver in this draft, and even though Tate didn’t run a blazing speed, it’s hard to see him not gong in the high teens.
We aren’t convinced the Giants would take Tyson with the tenth-overall pick, though many in the media are making that connection.
Tate is still a -200 proposition to be the first receiver selected, with Tyson now up to +130 and Lemon has dropped all the way to 17-1.
If there’s a run on corners and offensive linemen from the 9-12 range, we could still see a scenario where Lemon to the Rams at pick 13 was the first selection involving a receiver.
La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.