The college football world had a big laugh at the NFL Combine, and the Ohio State WR1 in the draft, Carnell Tate, found himself catching strays on national television. The word is, according to Buffalo Bills insiders, Brandon Beane believes Carnell Tate isn’t exactly cut out for his team, indicating that the WR’s performance was subpar at the Combine.

On February 28th, while the Bills’ GM was hanging out in the broadcast booth, Carnell Tate ran a 4.53-second 40-yard dash. Beane didn’t hold back, claiming on live TV that Tate looked pretty “slow” and that he’d probably pass on him early in the draft.

“He’s pretty slow,” Beane said, who was surprisingly smiling even though his comments would be perceived as severe criticism of Tate. “I probably wouldn’t take him early. … Did you see how slow he was out of the gate? The corner’s gonna lock him down.”

It sounded like the GM was showing some serious skepticism, but if you saw Beane’s face, he had a massive smirk the whole time. Could he be just messing around with the commentators? We don’t know, but running a 4.53 might have put Carnell Tate just outside the top-10 in the wide receivers’ list in the combine. However, that doesn’t put a dent in his first-round draft resume by any stretch of the imagination.

The Bills GM’s strategy makes sense if you look at the draft board. The Bills aren’t on the clock until their No. 26 pick. So Beane’s probably crossing his fingers that everyone else overthinks those numbers. Not that it would happen by any chance. However, even if Tate’s draft stock takes even a tiny hit because of his track speed, he could realistically fall right into Buffalo’s lap. If that happens, Josh Allen would get a potential top-tier target, something the offense has been looking for since the departure of Stefon Diggs.

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Even if Beane thinks he’s slow, when you actually look at the numbers, a 4.53 may not say ‘fastest’, but it isn’t exactly slow. Moreover, the NFL Combine is widely regarded as a massive disinformation campaign where front offices deliberately magnify measurable traits to tank a coveted prospect’s stock. Tate is known for his ‘game speed’ rather than his track speed. His 1.61-second 10-yard split tells us he’s super explosive right off the line. Many analysts prefer this over dashes because it is significantly more important for getting open in the NFL than a 40-yard sprint.

Tate is still a total first-round lock or even the first receiver off the board, perhaps. He spent his time at Ohio State torching defenders left and right. The former Buckeye caught 51 passes for 875 yards and 9 touchdowns despite being the WR2 on his team. What’s even crazier is that he led the entire nation with six touchdown catches of 30+ yards. So scouts aren’t actually that worried, regardless. Experts are even comparing him to guys like CeeDee Lamb because he has that same smooth route-running and that elite body control they use in those contested 50/50 catches.

Even if he’s the “11th or 12th slowest” receiver at this year’s Combine, his actual tape shows he’s one of the most dangerous playmakers available this year, if not the most.

Such shenanigans at the Combine are just part of the draft politics that gets played out. Only recently, Fernando Mendoza, who is predicted to go number 1 overall was asked to get arrested as a joke to drop his draft stock.

The fact of the matter is that in the first round each draft pick counts. We all remember how the Jets lost out on the number 1 draft pick in the 2021 draft to the Jaguars. Just the difference of one pick got the Jacksonville team their future franchise QB in Trevor Lawrence. Whereas the Jets had to settle for the eventual bust in Zach Wilson.

At the end of the day, this was just classic pre-draft drama. Beane got a good laugh, the internet got a meme, and Carnell Tate is still going to make a ton of money very soon. Whether he goes in the top five or slides a bit toward a team like the Bills, he’s expected to be a star on Sundays on day 1. However, there are plenty of wideouts who made most of their career with the same speed or significantly lesser speed score.

The Slow Wideouts Myth Breakdown

It might seem crazy that an NFL GM called Carnell Tate “slow” for running a 4.53, especially when you look at the legends who were actually much slower than him. The greatest of all time, Jerry Rice, reportedly ran a 4.71 (or a 4.59, depending on who you ask), and Cris Carter clocked in at 4.63. Even modern-day icons like Larry Fitzgerald (4.63) and Anquan Boldin (4.71) were way behind Tate’s time, and they all ended up with Hall of Fame-level careers.

Tate isn’t even the slowest receiver in this year’s 2026 class. Players like Vinny Anthony (4.54), Caullin Lacy (4.55), and Malachi Fields (4.61) all posted slower times at the 2026 Combine.

Even the best receiver in football today, Justin Jefferson, has been brought up in discussions about Tate because many fans remember people questioning his speed before he became a superstar. While some receivers like Tyquan Thornton run a 4.28 and struggle to stay on the field, the guys in the 4.5 to 4.6 range often have the most productive careers.

Even if we switch positions and look at one of the most successful running backs like Nick Chubb, we find similar numbers. He also ran an official 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine.

Despite the comments from the Bills GM, there is a chance that he hits the draft button if Tate’s available by then. Anything better than Keon Coleman at this point works for the Buffs next season since the Bills desperately need a polished route-runner.