Carnell Tate

The first receiver drafted in April is the thirty-first drafted in July. Carnell Tate goes at pick seventy-one, and that gap is the whole conversation.

On the record: Tennessee took him fourth overall — general manager Mike Borgonzi called him the best receiver in the draft, per NFL.com in April. Ohio State, three seasons, a fifty-one-catch final year, per NFL.com. In seven open spring practices he caught seventeen passes, per A to Z Sports, and Cam Ward says he wants Tate to know he trusts him early, per ESPN.

The situation, and the numbers are stark: Tennessee's leading receiver last season was a tight end, Chig Okonkwo, at fifty-six catches for five hundred sixty yards. No Titan cleared six hundred receiving yards. Calvin Ridley played seven games. The new regime — Robert Saleh with Brian Daboll calling the offense, hired in January per the team site — spent big on Wan'Dale Robinson from the Giants, per NFL.com, and drafted Tate to be the other half of the answer.

We won't convert a draft slot into a stat line — we tested whether capital plus camp hype predicts rookie production, and it doesn't at a standard we'd cite. The price is a bet on talent and target vacuum. Real evidence starts in September; we'll tell you what's real in October.

Watch: whether he's running as an every-down outside starter when camp breaks, and where the targets actually flow in September — him, Robinson, or the tight end again. If he's one of your guys, this show exists for your whole roster — every player, every week, all season.