NASHVILLE – Carnell Tate added another prized football to his growing collection on Sunday.
And, in the process, he took another step in establishing himself in the NFL.
Tate, selected fourth overall in the 2026 NFL Draft by the Titans, caught his first career touchdown in Sunday's 26-20 win over the Colts. Tate's score tied the contest, and it was part of a six-catch, 70-yard performance.
Tate collected the ball as a souvenir, and it will hang on a wall adjacent to the others he's accumulated over the years, starting since his days as a freshman at Ohio State.
On Monday, Tate said he feels like he's getting better each week.
"Ultimately, I am just getting more comfortable as the weeks go on, more practice reps, more game reps," Tate said. "It allows me to play faster and play free.
"My confidence is always there, so I'm just continuing to grow as I get more and more comfortable. But (my confidence is) always there."
Coach Robert Saleh on Monday raved about Tate, who leads the Titans with 29 catches for 344 yards and a touchdown through five games this season.
Tate is on pace to finish with 82 catches and 975 receiving yards this season.
Saleh said Tate was aggressive in getting YAC yards after a catch on Sunday, and it impressed him.
"He's improving obviously, the game's slowing down for him," Saleh said of Tate. "I think he's obviously getting used to being what's asked out of him, he's getting used to the NFL game. He's a young kid so he is getting better naturally. He works at it, he works at it in practice. So when you approach it the way he does, you are going to get better.
"It's such a small thing, but the under route that he caught that turned up field for about five or 10 more yards, I don't know if you guys remember it early in the first quarter, during the game, I told G Lew (Greg Lewis), our receivers coach, I said, 'Man, he looked juicy right there.' He just looked like a top five pick and just that play in particular is just giving me, giving all of us, signs that he's trending in the right direction with regards to the game slowing down. He's getting faster, he's understanding what's being asked out of him to catch the ball, catch, run, get vertical with violence. Tells me that he's understanding the message and working at what he needs to work at. And on top of it, he's getting confidence. That play alone, you can do a whole dissertation on that play alone in the confidence that he is building and the trust that he's developing with the quarterback."
Tate said he's working each day to get better, whether it's watching extra film with quarterback Cam Ward, or spending time with him after practice.
As he finds his footing even more in the league, Tate knows the league is all about getting better.
"Everyone is good in the NFL," Tate said. "The elite people make it from college to the NFL, that is the biggest transition."
