Titans receiver Carnell Tate, one of my personal favorite 2026 prospects because of his Lego habit, said in the hours before he was drafted that he would “give up the bank” to get his preferred number, 17, at the next level.
Ultimately, Tate didn’t even make teammate Chimere Dike an offer.
At rookie minicamp, Tate told reporters that he didn’t want to “bother” Dike with it. Instead, Tate picked No. 14 for his “new team, new journey.”
Tate said 14 was the “best number available.” He also said it made sense because his mother was born on November 14, and because he was taken by the Titans in round 1, pick 4.
Dike, for his part, may have been ready to start the bidding. Tate said he was willing to pay in the “upper hundred thousands” for 17.
On one hand, a player’s number doesn’t mean anything. On another hand, it means everything. For a player who has become identified with a given number, or who has made that number part of his own personal identity, it’s an adjustment to change it. Tate is processing the adjustment by making the new number part of the new everything he’ll be experiencing.
If his career goes the way he and the Titans hope, Tate will quickly be identified by NFL fans everywhere as 14, the same way other great NFL receivers became known for the numbers they wore. Or, for one specific all-time great, it won’t matter which number he wears.
Randy Moss isn’t known as being 88 (at Marshall) or 84 (at Minnesota) or 18 (at Oakland) or 81 (at New England). He’s simply known as being Randy Moss.
Carnell Tate’s ultimate goal should be the same. Don’t be known as 17 or 14 or any other number. Be known as Carnell Tate.
Either way, he saved plenty of money by not trying to get Dike to give up 17. And that money can buy a lot of Lego sets.
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