Carnell Tate was the only receiver out of the projected first-round picks to run the 40-yard dash. But little did he know that the drill would tank his lofty draft stocks. His disputed time has sparked a commotion in the online world and has roped in CFB experts into locking horns as well.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Tate was actually timed at 4.45 to 4.47 by multiple NFL teams, arguing that the WR was quicker than his official 4.52. The veteran journalist’s numbers would help salvage a lot of what was damaged in Tate’s draft stocks, because a lot of receivers have also been timed in the 4.40 range. However, NBC Sports’ Mike Florio was not too keen on relying on the team-recorded times.

“[The] official timing is far more reliable, given the natural inaccuracies that come from a human being clicking the button twice — once to start the clock and once to stop it. If some teams had Tate a couple of hundredths of a second faster than his official time, some may have had him a couple of hundredths of a second slower. It all comes down to whether they clicked at the right time, both times.”

Florio also doubted whether Schefter had actually sought that information himself. The latter, however, was prepared with evidence. Schefter, replying to Florio’s tweet about his article, shared a bunch of screenshots of text messages with multiple NFL team officials, who provided their times for Tate. As Schefter claimed, their replies showed that the WR was clocked in the 4.40 range. To land his rebuttal even more squarely, Schefter said in his tweet, “Just to prove you’re wrong, again.”

Tate’s official time was a huge surprise to fans, especially because this year’s Combine has seen record-breaking numbers. For context, the official recorded time placed Tate at 27th out of 34 receivers who ran at the combine this year. Mississippi State’s Brenen Thompson blazed to a 4.26, the fastest time of anyone at the entire combine. LSU’s Zavion Thomas ran a 4.28. Tate’s own teammate, Lorenzo Styles Jr., ran a 4.27. Bills General Manager Brandon Beane, standing at the podium the following day, even made a dry joke about Tate’s time.

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“He’s pretty slow. Probably wouldn’t take him early. Did you see how slow he was out of the gate? Corner’s gonna lock him down.” Then he clarified with a smirk that Buffalo picks 26th and isn’t exactly in the market for the Buckeyes’ star anyway.

While Tate is yet to address the drama around his 40 time, Adam Schefter had every reason to present all the evidence, especially when bizarre accusations are leveled against him.

Adam Schefter suspected of siding with Carnell Tate on agent’s insistence

A prospect as elite as Carnell Tate will try everything possible to keep their draft stock clear of any problems. That’s why some fans suspected that Schefter might have been pushed to clarify Tate’s time by the latter’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus. He has represented some of the most popular faces in college football and is known to wield a magic wand. Rosenhaus stepped in after Shilo Sanders went undrafted and got him a deal with Tampa Bay. Mike Florio also fueled fans’ suspicions.

“Did Schefter canvass multiple teams for their numbers, or did he simply copy and paste a text from Rosenhaus? Given the way the insider sausage gets made, the far safer bet is the latter.”

But Schefter isn’t the only source batting for Carnell Tate. The Athletic has also vouched for the WR being timed much quicker than the laser timing. The publication also claimed that Tate’s draft stock probably “remains unchanged as a faster time confirms what scouts may have seen on the field.”

Dane Bruegler, The Athletic’s draft analyst, has also addressed the idea of doing away with an official time at the Combine. According to him, teams will rely on the times that they have recorded on their stopwatches. It is still unclear whether Tate’s official time will truly affect his draft stock, but he will hope teams focus on their own records when assessing him as a fit.