What Makai Lemon’s 40 Time at USC’s Pro Day Means for Ohio State’s Carnell Tate

The USC Trojans held their annual pro day on Thursday, in advance of the 2026 NFL Draft.

As expected, a lot of attention was placed on wide receiver Makai Lemon’s 40-yard dash time, after he chose not to run at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.

According to The Athletic's Dane Brugler, Lemon was timed anywhere between 4.48 and 4.53 seconds, once again shining the spotlight on Ohio State’s Carnell Tate.

USC WR Makai Lemon ran his 40-yard dash for NFL scouts this morning.

4.48 to 4.53 range (according to multiple scouts in attendance)
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) March 12, 2026

Tate was the subject of ample debate at the Combine, where he was officially clocked at 5.53 seconds, a time many observers considered on the slower end for elite prospects. Later on, ESPN’s Adam Schefter threw some gasoline on the fire by reporting that Tate had been “timed by several NFL executives and GMs on Saturday with a 40 time in the range of 4.45-4.47 seconds,” reviving the controversial electronic versus handheld time discussion, and also stirring up some contention as to whom could have been Schefter’s source on those figures.

Nevertheless, Lemon’s time at USC’s pro day puts a new perspective over Tate’s time at the Combine, which should help settle the discussion regarding the best available wide receiver for the 2026 NFL Draft, at least in the eyes of a few interested parties.

Why Is Makai Lemon’s 40-Time at USC’s Pro Day So Important for Ohio State’s Carnell Tate?

The debate on who this year’s best prospect at the wide receiver position has been reduced for some time now to three names: Tate, Lemon and Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson. With Tyson dealing with a nagging hamstring injury that prevented him from working out at the Combine, much of the recent attention had been centered on Tate and Lemon.

Tate was the only wideout of the three who ran the 40 at the Combine, and his 4.53 official time raised some eyebrows among observers, who thought it was slow. However, a number of analysts also stated that Tate’s speed was more than enough to shine in the NFL, citing similar times for well established NFL stars during their draft processes.

Lemon had a shot to make a statement at the Trojan’s pro day, but essentially clocked in the same range that Tate did at Indy, according to these reports. Lemon is already at a disadvantage from a physical standpoint. Although Tate and Lemon weigh the same 192 pounds, Tate is three inches taller, has bigger hands and longer arms. Of course, Tate’s build also makes him seem a bit more fragile than Lemon.

While Tate is being projected exclusively on the outside, Lemon has been projected as a slot receiver at the next level by some observers, something that could end up hurting his draft stock, although he has shown the ability to play on the outside as well. This is where Lemon needed a faster 40-time than Tate to make up for a smaller catch radius. That didn’t happen at USC’s Loker Stadium.

If a team had Tate ranked higher on its board than Lemon, it’s hard to think Lemon’s performance at his pro day could change that after his 40 time came basically the same as Tate’s.

Now it will be up to Tyson, if he can run a 40-yard dash at some point before the draft -- Arizona State’s pro day is scheduled for April 27th -- to see if he can further shake up some things between the top-3 ranked wideouts.