Carnell Tate has Top 5 odds to win rookie of the year but this ESPN prediction has the Titans rookie missing out because by something that hasn\u2019t happened since before he was born. <\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJun 16, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans wider receiver Carnell Tate (14) talks with the media post practice during day 1 of mini-camp at Vanderbilt Health Football Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
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ESPN NFL analyst Ben Solak published his bold predictions article, and buried inside was an Offensive Rookie of the Year pick that would make history not seen since 2003, well before Tennessee Titans rookie Carnell Tate was born.<\/p>\n
The prediction was not Tate, the fourth overall pick, who has already emerged as Cam Ward\u2019s go-to target in OTAs and minicamp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Solak went with Washington Commanders wide receiver Antonio Williams, the 71st overall pick out of Clemson.<\/p>\n
Credit where credit is due. If you\u2019re writing a bold predictions column<\/a>, you should go big. Solak did that.\u00a0<\/p>\n Williams would be the lowest-drafted wide receiver Offensive Rookie of the Year winner since Anquan Boldin went 54th overall to the Arizona Cardinals in 2003. For context, 18 of the last 21 winners of the award from 2000 to 2025 were first-round picks. The other three: running backs Eddie Lacy and Alvin Kamara, plus quarterback Dak Prescott.<\/p>\n Solak\u2019s reasoning for Antonio Williams as OROY<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll take a down year for a late-drafted WR to win this award, but this looks like a down year,\u201d Solak writes. \u201cOnly two quarterbacks were taken in the first two rounds, and one of them (Ty Simpson<\/a>) has no chance of earning a starting job. Should Fernado Mendoza not surpass Kirk Cousins until midseason or struggle statistically when he starts, the field opens up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe running back class this year was historically weak. RB3 (Kaelon Black<\/a>) left the board at No. 90 \u2014 the latest the third running back has been taken in the common draft era (since 1967). Jeremiyah Love<\/a> and Jadarian Price<\/a> are the two first-round running backs, but Price is reportedly<\/a> facing a timeshare in Seattle, while Love will labor on a bad Cardinals team eyeing the 2027 No. 1 pick.\u201d<\/p>\n The odds landscape tells part of the story<\/p>\n Before getting into why Tate remains the stronger candidate, the current betting market<\/a> is worth laying out.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jeremiah Love, the third overall pick by the Cardinals, sits as the favorite anywhere between +300 and +430.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fernando Mendoza of the Raiders comes in between +375 and +430.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tate and Saints receiver Jordan Tyson hover around the third and fourth spots, with Tate listed between +550 and +700 and Tyson between +600 and +650.<\/p>\n Williams, if you can even find him listed, lives at +3,000. So yes, this qualifies as bold.<\/p>\n Tate\u2019s opportunity with Titans is unmatched<\/p>\n Here\u2019s where the argument for Tate over Williams gets simple. Offensive Rookie of the Year, in my opinion, is about opportunity when the winner isn\u2019t a quarterback. Tate has it in abundance.<\/p>\n The Titans\u2019 wide receiver room features free agent signing Wandale Robinson, Calvin Ridley on a restructured pay cut, and second-year fourth-round picks Elic Ayomanor and Chim Dike, who could battle each other for most improved returning players. Tate is the clear No. 1 target already.<\/p>\n Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll was the head coach of the Giants a couple of seasons ago when fifth overall pick Malik Nabers received roughly 170 targets.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nabers and Robinson combined for over 40% of New York\u2019s total pass targets that season, a lopsided distribution that Tennessee probably won\u2019t replicate. But the template is there. I expect Tate to clear 100 targets, which would lead the team. Robinson should get over 100 as well, given that he received around 140 targets in each of his final two seasons under Daboll in New York. Ayomanor led the Titans with 89 targets a season ago.<\/p>\n The Titans have invested so much in Ward and the future of this franchise. They have to feed Tate. He\u2019s the guy they drafted fourth overall to be Cam Ward\u2019s top weapon, and everything about the early returns from the practice field suggests the connection is already forming.<\/p>\n Williams fit in Washington<\/p>\n Antonio Williams is a good player. He posted 55 catches for 600 yards and four touchdowns in just 10 games last season at Clemson, and that Clemson offense was putrid. The entire team underperformed expectations, and Williams dealt with an early-season injury against LSU on top of it.<\/p>\n \u201cWilliams is also a hand-in-glove fit for David Blough\u2019s Detroit-inspired offense,\u201d Solak said. \u201cWilliams is an easy glider who makes fearless catches over the middle of the field. He dramatically improved his drop rate in 2025 and has that knack for QB friendliness: smart routes, good adjustments to bad balls, inside\/out versatility and YAC ability. He is evidently cut from the Amon-Ra St. Brown cloth, and St. Brown\u2019s reliability helped him break into the Lions\u2019 starting lineup as a fourth-round rookie.\u201d<\/p>\n The problem is the Commanders\u2019 receiver room.\u00a0<\/p>\n Terry McLaurin is still there. Rumors persist that ether Brandon Aiyuk or Stefon Diggs could end up in Washington before the season starts. If either happens, Williams might be the third or fourth option in the passing game. Even without Aiyuk, he\u2019s not walking into a No. 1 role the way Tate is in Tennessee.<\/p>\n For Williams to win this award, he\u2019d need well over 1,000 receiving yards, and he\u2019d probably need injuries to open up targets in front of him. That\u2019s a lot of dominoes that have to fall as the ninth receiver drafted in the class.<\/p>\n The field is deep, and Tate still stands above it<\/p>\n You also can\u2019t forget about Makai Lemon in Philadelphia, Omar Cooper Jr. with the Jets, Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion in Cleveland\u2019s receiver room.\u00a0<\/p>\n Solak is skipping over a lot of talented players drafted above Williams to land on this prediction.<\/p>\n Love has a real case as the third overall pick in Arizona, though that Cardinals offense lacks a franchise quarterback, but has Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, and Trey McBride already eating targets. Mendoza isn\u2019t expected to start for the Raiders over Kirk Cousins to open the season, which limits his runway.<\/p>\n Tate plays on a team ready to take a real step, with a coaching staff built to funnel volume to its top receiver, and a franchise quarterback who needs a go-to weapon. Everything lines up.<\/p>\n No hate on Solak for swinging big. That\u2019s the whole point of a bold predictions column. But I still think picking Antonio Williams over Carnell Tate for Offensive Rookie of the Year is quite the stretch.<\/p>\n \t\t\t Tennessee Titans News<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/E404518F-6B4D-45D3-94D0-3E5C5F8B5937-200x200.jpeg\")
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