Titans' Knock on Arvell Reese Revealed in New NFL Rumors After Carnell Tate Draft Pick

The Tennessee Titans may have surprised some football fans when they selected wide receiver Carnell Tate with the No. 4 overall pick when his Ohio State teammate Arvell Reese was still available, but there was reportedly a reason they did not select the pass-rusher.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday that one source told him "Reese's positional uncertainty (off-ball backer vs. edge) was a factor for Tennessee" while "another countered that the Titans simply rated Tate higher" and "felt good about getting defensive help later."

The Titans did just that when they selected Auburn pass-rusher Keldric Faulk with the No. 31 overall pick, Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. in the second round and Baylor defensive tackle Jackie Marshall in the sixth round.

"The Titans believe they can get more pass-rush juice out of Auburn edge Keldric Faulk, their 31st pick who had two sacks last year," Fowler wrote. "Faulk was in a two-gap scheme in Auburn, which limited his pass-rush opportunities. Tennessee believes he has the length and speed to do more as a pass rusher."

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Perhaps the No. 4 pick would have unfolded differently if the New York Jets selected Reese at No. 2 overall instead of Texas Tech edge David Bailey since Fowler reported the latter "would've been a consideration had he fallen to them."

Alas, the Jets went with the more experienced player since Reese had just one year as a starter in Ohio State's scheme and rotated between rushing the passer and playing as an off-ball linebacker. That seemed to be a concern for the Titans, and they decided to bolster the weapons around second-year quarterback Cam Ward.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department did not agree with the choice to draft Tate, though, and gave the Titans a "D" grade and highlighted how it remains a question whether he can be "the guy" in a passing attack since he never was at Ohio State.

Of course, he wasn't exactly playing with a random group of wide receivers with the Buckeyes. Instead, he was in an offense with the likes of Jeremiah Smith, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, among others, during his collegiate career.

He still found a way to thrive even if he wasn't the main focal point of the offense and will look to establish himself as a go-to option for the Titans as Ward continues to develop into an impact quarterback.