Each week, Yardbarker monitors the 2026 NFL Draft, scheduled April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. From an Ohio State wide receiver to a South Carolina quarterback, here are five players we’re tracking: After a 38-14 win over Penn State, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said, “If there are two better wide receivers in the country than [Tate and Jeremiah Smith], I’d like to see them.” Smith isn’t eligible for the draft until after the 2026 season, so scouts are eyeing Tate (6-foot-3, 195 pounds) this year. Per longtime draft analyst Ryan Fowler, 17 NFL teams sent scouts to Saturday’s Nittany Lions-Buckeyes matchup. Against Penn State, Tate had five receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown catch. That performance should continue to raise his stock. “The biggest questions about Tate’s game — which are currently keeping him out of the early-Round 1 talk — are a lack of explosive yards-after-catch ability and some route-running inefficiencies, stemming from his high-cut, long-legged build,” wrote ESPN’s Matt Miller in a
