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Titans pushed conventional draft wisdom aside to prioritize helping Cam Ward

Getting weapons for Cam Ward appears to have been a priority for Tennessee.
ByJustin Carter|
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2026 NFL Draft - Portraits
2026 NFL Draft - Portraits | Cooper Neill/GettyImages

Key Points

Bullet point summary by AI

  • The Tennessee Titans entered the draft with significant roster gaps and a young quarterback, Cam Ward, needing support.
  • They selected Carnell Tate, a wide receiver from Ohio State, prioritizing immediate help over conventional 'best player available' strategies.
  • This move signals a clear commitment to building around Ward for long-term success.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward spent his rookie season in an awful spot, as he had almost no help around him and struggled with that lack of support. After an offseason where the Titans did some things to support Ward but not enough, it was going to be fascinating to see what the team did.

And what they did was draft Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate. It goes against the conventional wisdom that a young team with a lot of holes should just go best player available — Tate was only eighth on the FanSided big board — but it also shows the Titans are serious about helping Ward.

Carnell Tate pick is all about Cam Ward

The Titans had been heavily connected to Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love in the draft process, to the point where it seemed inevitable that he'd wind up there. Luckily for the Titans, the Arizona Cardinals saved them from themselves by taking Love at No. 3. The Titans roster is in way too bad of shape to justify taking a running back in the first round.

Once Love was off the board, that pick could have gone any way. I'd imagine conventional wisdom would have been to take Ohio State EDGE Arvell Reese there, as he was the best player on the board and would have filled a need for Tennessee. Instead, they opted to directly support last year's No. 1 overall pick.

Tennessee entered this draft with Calvin Ridley and Wan'Dale Robinson at wide receiver. That's a good pairing, but Ridley's inconsistency in recent seasons and concerns about Robinson as a No. 1 option meant adding a wide receiver in this draft made sense, and that's exactly what the Titans did with Tate, who had separated himself as the No. 1 wideout in the 2026 class.

The Ohio State product is going to be a good NFL receiver; the only question is if he can be a great one. Justin Melon of Titan Sized had Tate at No. 4 on the Titans draft board, writing that "Ward would benefit from growing alongside a receiver of his caliber."

While Tate has to show he has the explosiveness to be an elite No. 1, adding him feels like the right move. Ensuring that Ward is the long-term quarterback in Tennessee is the most important thing for this franchise, and giving Ward adequate support is the best way to ensure he has the chance to prove that. Maybe it goes against some conventional wisdom of going BPA, but in this situation, it was the correct call.

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