The Tennessee Titans made a huge splash with the #4 overall pick, taking wide receiver Carnell Tate with other, more touted defensive prospects still on the board. They also added one of my preferred running back prospects in the class, but will any of these guys matter for 2026 fantasy football leagues?
Round 1, Pick 4 Overall: Carnell Tate, WR
The following is an excerpt from our Round One Rookie Roundup, which you can find here.
TALENT
Tate doesn’t have a lot of carrying traits that jump off the tape, but he is a conglomeration of strong traits that should carry him into being a lower-end WR1 or a high-end WR2 at the NFL level, following in the footsteps of fellow Ohio State receivers like Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. There is a bit of Olave in his game, but that is helmet scouting, not a direct comparison to Olave. He’s a slippery route runner who is more than capable of finding the holes in zones.
His best trait, however, is his ability to win at the second and third levels. He is an adept deep-ball threat, despite running a 4.53 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He can make slight adjustments to his routes to lose defenders downfield, and he has large, pillowy hands and incredible ball-tracking downfield. He doesn’t have strong contested catch skills, but he does a good job of minimizing that possibility by angling his attack to the football to prevent true 50/50 balls.
He knows that teams fear him deep, as he stacks defenders to snap off comeback routes exceptionally well, and he has the prowess to find the holes in the zones that will maximize his ability to catch passes at the next level. Tate’s biggest weakness is strength. He isn’t the skinniest receiver out there, but play strength is a serious issue. He gets bodied when trying to run block, and he gets jammed by stronger corners at the line. I also already mentioned that he gets worked by true 50/50 balls. All in all, he should hit the ground running, ideally as a WR2.
NFL Comparison: Calvin Ridley
Draft Round: Late 1st Round
2025 OPPORTUNITY
The Tennessee Titans love Calvin Ridley so much that they went out and got themselves a brand new one in Carnell Tate. He’s immediately Cam Ward’s WR1, as there isn’t really much else in that room to worry about. They added Wan’Dale Robinson to that room, but he isn’t the type of player who will take anything from Tate; he will operate much like he did with Malik Nabers in New York. Long story short, Tate is their WR1, and he is going to be their WR1 by a large margin. He is walking into an incredible situation with last year’s #1 overall pick and the man who let Malik Nabers run wild in New York, Brian Daboll, who is the OC of the Titans.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Malik Nabers was WR8 in fantasy points per game his rookie season under Brian Daboll, but Carnell Tate is no Malik Nabers; he just carries a similar profile. The Titans threw to their receivers at the ninth-lowest rate last season, with only 17.4 targets per game going their way. Nabers is likely to reach 50% wide receiver target share, at eight targets per game, as he is the best receiver in the room by far. Eight targets per game come out to 136 targets, and even if he only gets seven per game, that still comes out to 119 targets. That’s a player I will take as a backend WR2, as that’s upper-echelon (not quite elite) volume (it would have ranked 16th in targets per game last season). There will be some ups and downs.
Round 5, Pick 165 Overall: Nicholas Singleton, RB
TALENT
If Kaytron Allen is the technical nerd’s ideal running back, then Nick Singleton is the “one cut and go, all vibes”-pilled ideal running back. Singleton isn’t a particularly refined runner, mostly running as hard as possible north-south while letting tacklers bounce off of him. He is a great zone runner because he is going to hit one cut and go. He’s like me at middle school social gatherings: no dancing. He’s not a big play threat, at all, either. But he has one exceptional carrying trait that will help him in the NFL: he is an elite pass-catching running back. This, combined with his pass-blocking chops, will get him onto the field as a third-down and two-minute drill back immediately, but it is up to him to grow from there.
NFL Comparison: Jamaal Williams
Draft Round: Round 4
2026 OPPORTUNITY
The Tennessee Titans don’t have a particularly exciting running back room, with Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears, and Michael Carter to go alongside Nicholas Singleton. Singleton isn’t a lot to write home about, either, but the Titans simply don’t have the depth chart that can hold him off if he has any reasonable viability in the NFL. While Tony Pollard showed that he deserves the RB1 slot, neither Carter nor Spears has proven themselves as the RB2 slot. And that’s where Singleton likely starts his NFL career when the preseason shakes out. This gives him an immediate opportunity to produce and puts him one bad play away from the RB1 role in Tennessee.
2026 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
He’s not going to be a high-end handcuff, but he is a handcuff nonetheless. In regular fantasy football drafts, you can likely ignore Singleton (though keep an eye on the reports out of Tennessee). In best ball drafts, you can take him as a last-round injury flier in case Tony Pollard misses time. Without a Pollard injury, he likely kisses top-30 RB finishes a few times when he falls into a touchdown, but I’m not banking significant draft capital on that profile.
Round 7, Pick 225 Overall: Jaren Kanak, TE
TALENT
Jaren Kanak is still learning the ins and outs of tight end after converting from linebacker in his final year in college. He checks some boxes, as he is fast, strong, and athletic, but he is still sashimi raw at actually playing tight end. He’s a little short for tight end (6’2”) and would find his best path forward converting (yet again) to fullback in the league. He could have a Kyle Juszczyk career runout if this happens. He likely finds his path forward in the NFL as a special teamer; however, as he is fast and strong. Also, converting from LB to TE shows a willingness to do the dirty work.
2026 OPPORTUNITY & FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
He won’t see the field in any significant capacity. You can ignore him for the 2026 season.
