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.
For Tate, the Browns were his very first pre-draft visit, and on Wednesday's Rich Eisen Show, he talked about his experience in Cleveland and what it would mean to him to become a Browns wide receiver.
Tate laughed at the fact that a lot of his current fans in Columbus would be able to watch the Buckeyes on Saturdays and then cut on 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, being that Cleveland is just a short two-hour drive up the road.
Carnell said that his pre-draft "journey started" in Cleveland, and Eisen commented that many fans hope that it also ends there in Cleveland.
π» @carnelltate Thought to be the first wide receiver off the board next week, could the @OhioStateFB star go in the Top 5?#NFL #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/ku1kVKPdoC
The last time that the Browns spent a first-round pick on a rookie wide receiver was all the way back in 2016 when they selected Corey Coleman with the 15th overall pick. Before then, the prior first-round wide receiver that they selected was Braylon Edwards in 2005.
Cleveland simply does not use premium picks on wide receivers, and that's part of the reason they have not developed one since Edwards.
If History is repeating itself, it was 10 years between Edwards and Coleman, and now, it's been 10 years since Coleman was selected, so now may be the time, and this time, if they go Tate, they are getting 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 7-11, but the reality is that he isn't making it past pick number nine.
After visiting Cleveland, Tate took trips to Kansas City, New Orleans, and Washington, among others. For what it is worth, those are the teams with the ninth, eighth, and seventh picks in the draft. If the Browns decide that they do not want to go wide receiver with the sixth pick, then they can kiss Carnell Tate goodbye.
If that becomes the reality, it would be a colossal mistake in my book. We are just eight days away from finding out the fate of Tate, along with all of the 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
