Ohio State Buckeyes receiver Jeremiah Smith may soon have a freshman filling the role Carnell Tate was in over the past two years: his top decoy to enable WR1 greatness. Chris Henry Jr. has Saturday Blitz's Nicholas Rome sold on the wideout being able to provide Julian Sayin a clear WR2/WR1A on the outside.
Per Rome, "While Carnell Tate is off to the NFL, Ohio State doesn't rebuild, they reload, especially at the wide receiver position. The Buckeyes signed the nation's top wide receiver recruit , Chris Henry Jr., who's built to step right in and make an instant impact. At 6-foot-5, Henry is going to bring a size mismatch to the outside, allowing Jeremiah Smith to exploit mismatches."
On paper, Henry is a more athletic specimen than Tate. According to his NFL Combine 40-yard dash measurements, Tate wasn't much of a burner in Columbus at all. Henry has a higher potential ceiling than Tate. Even having a Tate-esque career would unilaterally be a successful run for Henry, though.
Henry needs to be WR2 to Smith, just like Tate. Henry's role in the offense will be much different than Tate's, though.
Chris Henry Jr.'s role in Ohio State's offense will require patience
We'll see Henry do the spectacular here and there, but his 2026 season probably isn't going to resemble Tate's production in 2025. Instead, the biggest thing he'll be asked to do is not turn into A.J. Brown if the targets aren't coming in high volume.
Arthur Smith's offense won't be tailored to elite receiving talent in the same way Brian Hartline's was. Smith was a guard during his playing days with the North Carolina Tar Heels, after all. Meanwhile, Hartline wore the Scarlet and Gray and was a receiver for Troy Smith. Their identities helped shape their offensive play-calling tendencies.
Henry isn't necessarily worse off for it. The world knows he has athletic gifts, some knowing based on his name alone. If he can make big plays in big moments, that'll help him become a draft pick.
It's just that Jeremiah Smith will be the one who'll get the lion's share of the targets. He's the most proven entity in the receiving room by a good bit, and Arthur Smith will want to maximize his shots on the receiver he's required to market as a top-five overall pick for the 2027 NFL draft.
We'll see how things play out. Henry may have to accept that in many ways, he'll be even more of a decoy for Smith than Tate was. He'll also have to embrace the fact that it's not necessarily a bad thing.