Patrick Mahomes is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the National Football League, and one 2026 mock draft sees him getting a little extra help.
Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs came up short in Super Bowl 59 against the Philadelphia Eagles, with aspirations to make another Super Bowl appearance in 2026. By doing so, they’d fall to the end of the draft, a place they’re more than familiar with.
Chiefs Projected Selection: WR Carnell Tate
In Max Dorsey’s latest 2026 NFL mock draft, the Chiefs select Carnell Tate out of Ohio State, who racked up 733 yards in 2024 with four touchdowns. Those numbers came when he was the third receiver on the depth chart, but the Buckeye will move up that list for the 2025 season. Similar to the Chiefs, Ohio State has a championship-or-bust mindset.
With Tate moving up to WR2, he will really have a chance to shine and make his mark on the upcoming college football season. There are just two receivers projected to be drafted ahead of Tate: Denzel Boston and Jordyn Tyson.
2026 WR Class – Early Model Preview
Elite Tier:
1. Carnell Tate – 88.5
2. Jordyn Tyson – 87.4
3. Antonio Williams – 87.2Elite Lite:
4. Evan Stewart – 78.0
5. Denzel Boston – 77.6Tap link in comments for full model rankings. pic.twitter.com/SLwSW93ts1
— Elite Drafters (@Elite_Drafters) May 27, 2025
The Kansas City Chiefs head into the 2025-26 season with a few notable receivers on the depth chart. Rashee Rice, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Xavier Worthy, and Hollywood Brown make up the main names that Mahomes has to throw to. Obviously, Travis Kelce will once again be the team’s main tight end.
At 6’3” and 191 pounds, Tate will be entering his third year at OSU. His freshman season saw him with 18 receptions for 264 yards to go along with one touchdown. If there’s one thing that stands out about Tate, it’s his yards per catch. With the small sample size in 2023, Tate had an average of 14.7 yards per reception. In 2024, with 34 more receptions, Tate’s average moved down, but only slightly, to 14.1 yards per reception.
Last year, Xavier Worthy averaged 10.8 yards per reception. The highest on the team was Justin Watson’s 13.1, but that came with only 22 receptions. Worthy caught the ball 59 times, which compares nicely to Tate’s 52 in 2024. Worthy had the most receptions out of any receiver on the team, with only tight end Kelce having more (97).
It should be noted that in PFSN’s latest 2026 3-round mock draft, the Chiefs select Will Lee III with the 31st overall pick. The Chiefs are selecting at No. 31 in both of these mock drafts, but in this one, they select Lee III, a cornerback out of Texas A&M.
This mock draft sees Carnell Tate fall to the No. 36 pick, one that belongs to the Tennessee Titans. Tate is selected above Denzel Boston, who fell to the No. 51 pick.