NY Giants 2026 NFL Mock Draft: The Case for Ohio State’s Carnell Tate at No. 5

Prior to the start of the 2025 season, one belief about the New York Giants’ offense was that they would at least provide a rookie quarterback like Jaxson Dart with a solid arsenal of playmakers should he take the helm.

Dart, the team’s hopeful franchise gunslinger, did ascend into the starting role pretty quickly, replacing Russell Wilson just four weeks into the regular season after the Giants starter went 0-3 under his watch.

What didn’t rise to the occasion was his receiving corps, one that had one of the NFL’s greatest young talents in the room in Malik Nabers, but mostly fizzled out as soon as Nabers went down for the season with an ACL tear in Dart’s Week 4 debut.

The Giants also lost slot target Wan’Dale Robinson, who signed with the Tennessee Titans in free agency after posting his first 1,000-yard season as the unexpected lead pass catcher for Dart in 2025.

Between a lack of reliable depth and another year of issues with the drops, the Giants needed to strengthen their receiver room this offseason and got the ball rolling with a few nice additions in tight end Isaiah Likely and receivers Calvin Austin and Darnell Mooney.

Is that enough for a Giants offense that, according to head coach John Harbaugh, wants to be as explosive and high-scoring as it can be in the 2026 season? There are some starting-caliber receivers in this year’s draft class, such as Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, that could be had at No. 5.

Making the case for New York expanding their bevy of reliable weapons by drafting Tate as they continue building around Dart in his second season under center.

Pros and Cons of Giants Drafting Carnell Tate

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Carnell Tate (17) makes a catch for a touchdown Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, during the Big Ten football championship against the Indiana Hoosiers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Even though the Giants are expecting their star target in Malik Nabers to return to the field healthy in 2026, there is no guarantee that moment will come in the Week 1 opener if Nabers doesn’t feel 100% ready to go.

That would leave the Giants with Darius Slayton and Darnell Mooney as the two leading receivers on the perimeter and maybe Calvin Austin and tight end Isaiah Likely splitting reps at the slot position.

The rest of the Giants’ depth chart is slotted with players who either underperformed or saw their season cut short by injuries. They could use an extra receiver to come in and potentially fill the No. 1 role from day one, and Carnell Tate has that resume.

Despite playing in a crowded room at Ohio State, Tate rose from the pack and caught up the second-most passes (51) for 875 yards, nine touchdowns, and a team-leading average of 17.2 yards per reception.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Tate has steadily improved his production with each passing season in Columbus. Much of that has come from his steady hands and pro-ready ball tracking skills that have made him one of the best contested catchers in FBS play last season.

Tate finished the 2025 season as the third-highest graded pass catcher (90.2) while dropping zero balls and hauling in 12 of his 14 contested targets, which stood among the best percentages in the nation (85.7%). He had just three drops and 22/32 contested catches in his college stint.

If Nabers doesn’t come back by the season opener, Tate would be a perfect replacement with the size and impressive route-running (3.52 yards per route run last season) that can stretch all three levels of the field and put opposing corners into a stupor with how well he moves in his breaks.

The biggest downside to Tate’s profile is that he doesn’t garner the same amount of success after the catch (198 YAC in 2025) for a player of his athletic aptitude.

Adding him to the mix might also make the Giants a little too perimeter-heavy and lacking a player like Wan’Dale Robinson, who could advance drives with short dump-offs and turn speed into extra yardage.

Tate possesses the right amount of crisp technique and separation ability to become an early problem for defenses trying to shut him down. He would be a menace in one-on-one situations and perhaps be the closer that the Giants have needed when they get close to the endzone.

Should Carnell Tate Be the Giants' Ultimate Choice?

If we were asked this question before the actual offseason process took shape, the answer might be a resounding yes once we saw Tate’s skill set in action, and knowing that the Giants might take a hit in the receiving corps during free agency.

Not long after, the Giants, like other teams, became impressed by the unique talents of other top prospects like running back Jeremiah Love and Tate’s teammate in linebacker Sonny Styles, the latter of whom could fill a massive and highly impactful need in the franchise’s defense.

With the draft under three weeks away, the vibe around where Tate stands on the Giants’ big board has seemingly shifted. It feels as if they have their eyes set on drafting Styles at No. 5, or maybe Love slips far enough to where John Harbaugh demands he join the offensive ranks for what hopes to be a highly efficient season in his system.

That said, if both players are off the board by the time the clock gets to the Giants, there is a chance they make the safe pick and snag one of the bona fide receiving options in this year’s class in Tate, who would most likely become the No. 2 target for Jaxon Dart once Malik Nabers reenters the fold.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest Giants news. Send your mailbag questions to us.