The missteps of past Tennessee Titans’ drafts can't be held against Mike Borgonzi.

Or against Carnell Tate, for that matter.

You’d rather have had someone else at No. 4? Yeah, I know. I get it. The Titans’ initial 2026 first-round pick was indeed a surprising choice. I believe they'd call Tate a classic reeeeaaaach by Borgonzi. The Titans' general manager appeared to choose a specific need over the "best available" player.

And the "best available" player, in this instance, also could've filled a need at edge rusher so pressing that the it prompted the Titans to trade back into the first round for Auburn's Keldric Faulk later in the evening.

But Tate? Who knows? He was widely considered the best wide receiver in this draft, and if you’ve watched a lot of the Titans' past two seasons (if so, I’m sorry), you understand how desperately this crummy offense, and its quarterback Cam Ward, craved the best receiver in a draft.

Tate is a “complete receiver” — his words. He’s tall enough to play outside. He makes plays down the field — Borgonzi's words. He’s smooth in all the ways you’d want a receiver to be, and he’s physical. He excelled in a long line of gifted receivers at Ohio State, and he was hyped that way before he got to Columbus.

In reviewing Tate’s 2023 recruiting profile on 247 Sports, you’ll see he was a five-star prospect, offered by pretty much every big-time program.

If you keep scrolling, you’ll also see a highly interesting comp for Tate. Who was the NFL player that 247Sports’ analysts believed was most similar?

Calvin Ridley.

Heh.

Noteable difference: The Atlanta Falcons took Ridley at No. 26 overall in 2018.

By putting Tate all way up at No. 4, where few saw the wide receiver going in this draft, the Titans placed him into rare company. No full-time wide receiver (excluding Travis Hunter) has been drafted higher than No. 4 since Calvin Johnson in 2007. Only a few during that stretch – most recently Marvin Harrison Jr., two years ago – have even gone fourth.

Heck, Ja’Marr Chase went fifth in 2021.

And the Titans drafted Tate FOURTH?

Instead of the defensive stars? Instead of his gifted Ohio State teammates Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles? Instead of Miami’s Reuben Bain Jr.?

Instead of trading back in the likelihood that Tate would still be available?

"I saw a 20-year-old kid that continued to get better," Borgonzi said of Tate, "and his ability to get open at the top of the routes and really catch the ball down the field. That's the one thing that really stood out to us: His ability to track the football."

By anyone’s estimation, this was a dice-roll by Borgonzi on a player who’ll show up with a ton of pressure to be a No. 1 receiver for an NFL franchise despite having not even been that in college. Tate was the No. 2 receiver for Ohio State behind the supremely gifted Jeremiah Smith.

Now Smith, you’d feel comfortable drafting at No. 4 overall. But Tate had 368 fewer receiving yards than Smith last season despite not facing the opponent’s best coverage. That Tate was the unquestioned top receiver in this draft was considered proof of this not being a top-heavy draft for the premium position.

While Tate was the best of the bunch, pick No. 4 was believed to be unlikely.

“I didn't have any idea that I was going to go this early,” Tate said.

Same here, Carnell.

Tate is considered a safe selection in that his floor is believed to be high as a productive NFL receiver. But when you make him the No. 4 pick, you're banking on his ceiling as a game-changing talent.

In that sense, Tate is either going to pay off in a quick and obvious fashion (see some other Ohio State receivers in the NFL) or the weight of expectations for him as a top-five pick could prove too heavy (see Corey Davis' time with the Titans).

As for Borgonzi, given those previously referenced draft missteps by the Titans, it is instinctive to recoil from another truly questionable first-round draft decision.

The truly questionable draft decisions never seem to work out for the Titans, given how they've endured a horrific run of drafts for most of this decade.

Maybe this’ll be different. Maybe, this time, the Titans were the ones ahead of the curve instead of forever being behind it on draft night.

It's hard to expect the best yet, though.

With the Titans on draft nights, everyone is too accustomed to expecting the worst.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans reached for Carnell Tate, but maybe it'll be OK