Carnell Tate can shift draft boards all around the league, including the New Orleans Saints, with a surprising 40 yard dash. Jordyn Tyson won't be participating in any of Saturday's festivities, so that places all eyes on Tate and Makai Lemon.
Some players don't run the 40 yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, but when you look at Tate's Ohio State teammates, it paints a clear picture. Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese both ran the 40. Caleb Downs and Tate have yet to state their intentions, but it would be a solid educated guess to expect them to also run in Indianapolis.
Tate would catch everyone by surprise if he ran in the 4.4's.
Carnell Tate could become the top receiver on the board with a strong 40 yard dash
There isn’t an event at the NFL Combine with more sway than the 40 yard dash. Even as chants of it being overemphasized grow louder, it remains a magnetizing event.Â
Tate could catapult his stock with an impressive time. We saw Justin Jefferson have a similar leap after posting a 4.43 during the Combine. No one expected to see a time like that from Jefferson. Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah was even downplaying the expected time at the start of the run.
Jefferson already had the tape, but the speed component just added something extra to his profile. The former can be said about Tate prior to the Combine. Tate is viewed as an extremely polished player. Though he's shown himself to be a downfield target, speed just isn't a part of his profile.
The 4.43 didn't take Jefferson to the top of the board, but it definitely bolstered his stock. For Tate, a similar leap would mean becoming the top receiver on the board. That's already the case on some boards, but showing more speed than expected would give him the edge to even more teams. Tyson is already managing an injury narrative. The Combine, and specifically the 40, could be what Tate needs to position himself as the top prospect.