Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate describes his pre-draft visit to Cleveland, saying he felt “comfortable” inside the facility.
Former Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate detailed his recent experience in Berea, Ohio, when he visited the Cleveland Browns.
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For Tate, the Browns were his first pre-draft visit, and on Wednesday’s Rich Eisen Show he talked about his experience in Cleveland and what it would mean for him to become a wide receiver for the Browns.
Tate laughed at the fact that many of his current fans in Columbus could watch the Buckeyes on Saturdays and then skip to the Browns game on Sunday afternoon and watch one of their favorite wide receivers play for their Browns. He smiled at the implied familiarity with the location, as Cleveland is just a two-hour drive down the road.
Carnell said his “pre-draft journey” began in Cleveland, and Eisen said many fans hope it ends there, in Cleveland, too.
The last time the Browns spent a first-round pick on a rookie wide receiver was in 2016 when they selected Corey Coleman with the 15th overall pick. Before that, the previous first-round wide receiver they drafted was Braylon Edwards in 2005.Advertisement
Cleveland simply doesn’t use premium picks on wide receivers, and that’s part of the reason they haven’t developed one since Edwards.
If history repeats itself, it was 10 years between Edwards and Coleman, and now it’s been 10 years since Coleman was drafted, so now may be the time, and this time, if they draft Tate, they’ll get a player with star potential on the outside.
The argument right now is that while Tate is the number one wide receiver on the board, he isn’t valuable enough to be selected with the sixth pick. People perceive his value somewhere between picks 7 and 11, but the reality is that he doesn’t go above pick number nine.
After visiting Cleveland, Tate took trips to Kansas City, New Orleans and Washington, among others. For what it’s worth, those are the teams with the ninth, eighth and seventh picks in the draft. If the Browns decide they don’t want to go wide receiver with the sixth pick, then they can say goodbye to Carnell Tate.
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If that becomes a reality, it would be a colossal mistake in my opinion. We are just eight days away from knowing Tate’s fate, along with that of all other rookies, in next week’s NFL Draft.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Top WR prospect Carnell Tate details his pre-draft visit to Cleveland.