Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is defending former Buckeye Carnell Tate.
Tate has received some scrutiny after he was selected as the first wide receiver in the 2026 NFL Draft, despite not having been Ohio State’s top receiver target in college. Appearing on the “Up and Adams” show May 6, Egbuka shut down the narrative that meant Tate would not find success with the Tennessee Titans.
“I mean, we can see the correlation,” Egbuka said. “That was the same talk that was about me when I was coming out of the draft. At the end of the day, it’s all semantics. If you can play football, you can play football, and Carnell Tate can play football.”
Selected with the No. 20 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Egbuka finished his final college season with 1,011 receiving yards, more than 300 fewer than Jeremiah Smith in his freshman year. Egbuka led the team in receptions with 81 compared to Smith’s 76 catches.
With Buccaneers wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin Jr. playing fewer than 10 games during the 2025 season due to injuries, Egbuka led the team in receiving yards with 938. He finished fifth in 2025 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
Tate, the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft, was called a “talented player” by New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers during Bleacher Report’s draft night coverage on April 23, but Nabers questioned Tate’s selection.
“I don’t see him being a number one,” Nabers said. “He hasn’t been the number one on the team he’s been on. You have to be a number one on the team that you’re coming from to be a number one receiver on the team you’re going to. … You can’t be the second.”
Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons, also on the broadcast, quickly dismissed Nabers’ statement by bringing up that former Buckeyes receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was a second option while in college.
“You said you got to be number one on the team that you’re coming from. … [Jaxon Smith-Njigba] was not number one. Bro, you got to understand that the number one [Ohio State] player will be the number one pick in the draft next year. … Give him a chance to fulfill the role,” Parsons said.
Tate finished the 2025 season with 875 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, second to Smith with 1,243 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Emeka Egbuka defends Ohio State WR Carnell Tate’s selection to Titans
Reporting by Dan Aulbach, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
