The 2026 NFL draft is just over a month away, slated to take place from April 23 through 25 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The roots of the draft date back to the 1930s, with the NFL explaining that following the NFL instituting its waiver system in 1934 to allow teams to pick up available players, Philadelphia Eagles co-owner Bert Bell felt that his team was at a disadvantage in signing top players.
“At a 1935 league meeting, Bell proposed that the NFL hold an annual player draft to level the playing field and make sure that every franchise remained financially viable,” the league adds. “League owners voted unanimously to adopt his proposal, setting up the inaugural NFL Draft in 1936.”
Now, the draft is on the way, and the Washington Commanders are being predicted to snag a solid wide receiver to help Jayden Daniels in Carnell Tate of Ohio State.
In a Monday, March 16 feature for USA Today, Nate Davis and Ayrton Ostly note that “Washington did a lot of work in free agency. But they don’t have a clear-cut No. 2 receiver behind veteran Terry McLaurin, who will be 31 this season and is coming off his least productive NFL campaign.”
They add that “Tate is the latest ready-made wideout product emerging from the Buckeyes’ pipeline. His 51 catches in 2025 averaged 17.2 yards, nearly three more than former teammate Jeremiah Smith, and should add another explosive element to an offense that already has QB Jayden Daniels ripping off plenty of big plays.”
His NFL draft profile boasts that he “builds momentum quickly on intermediate and deep routes, utilizing speed and tempo to pressure cornerbacks. He can win over the top on verticals or separate over the first two levels with route savvy and separation burst. Tate tracks throws at top speed and makes his adjustments to run under them.”
So, the Commanders had a rocky season in 2025, but they have promise, and when Daniels is healthy, they can be on fire.
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