Carnell Tate 40 time controversy, explained: Why NFL insiders are fighting over how fast Ohio State WR is

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Carnell Tate 40 time controversy, explained: Why NFL insiders are fighting over how fast Ohio State WR is originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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The NFL Combine has become an event where many players opt out of some or all of it and instead just work out at their pro days. Still, the Combine results are combed over, and sports analysts use what happens at the Combine to drive their coverage of the players and the event leading up to the draft. 

Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate is the latest in a line of Buckeyes star wide receivers to declare for the draft. He is projected to be the first wide receiver selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, and is not expected to fall below the top-10. 

However, after his performance at the 2026 combine, controversy arose over Tate's 40-yard dash time and whether he was actually as fast as measured. The controversy even spawned an online battle between two of the top NFL insiders, Adam Schefter and Mike Florio. 

Here is more on the dispute over Tate's 40-time from the 2026 NFL Combine. 

MORE: Who were the fastest players at the 2026 NFL Combine?

Carnell Tate 40 time controversy, explained 

Tate's official 40-yard dash time at the 2026 NFL Combine was a 4.53. 

However, the controversy around that official time stems from a report by ESPN's Adam Schefter that said "several NFL executives and GMs on Saturday [had] a 40 time in the range of 4.45-4.47 seconds." referring to the fact that some teams opt to still evaluate prospects 40-yard dash by hand using a stopwatch. 

Schefter was then called out by NBC Sports' Mike Florio, who claimed that many are seeing the "report" from Schefter "as an effort to do a favor for Tate’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus. It’s part of the gig, and it’s something that — to the trained eye — is instantly recognizable." The NBC Sports analyst claimed that Schefter was reporting information from an agent as fact. 

Florio then took it a step further, calling out Schefter for his past agent-influenced tweets, like when he proclaimed that Deshaun Watson was innocent after he wasn't indicted in 2022, or when the ESPN analyst gave a one-sided look at the domestic violence allegations against former NFL running back Dalvin Cook. 

Why did Adam Schefter call out Mike Florio?

Schefter didn't let Florio's report go without comment. He responded to the story with eight different screenshots where he asked someone how they clocked Tate's 40 and the response. The times ranged from 4.45 to 4.52 in the screenshots.

MORE:Fastest 40 times ever at the NFL Combine

How fast is Carnell Tate?

The official time at the 2026 NFL Combine of 4.53 is the best barometer how fast Tate is. That 40-yard dash time ranked 27th among the wide receivers that participated in the event. While hand times are also likely somewhat accurate, the combine is usually the standard. Plus, no other 40-yard dash times are being disputed as heavily which adds weight to the claim from Florio that Schefter could be attempting to help shape the narrative around Tate's speed. 

Former NFL wide receiver Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson also weighed in on the debate and is tired of hearing about the discourse over the 40, because as he points out, it really doesn't matter since "football isn't played in a straight line." Johnson adds his vote of confidence to Tate, saying that the wide receiver is clearly a top-five pick, regardless of his Combine drill result. 

Carnell Tate stats 

Here are Tate's college stats. 

YearGamesReceptionsYardsTDs202313182641202415527334202511518752

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