There’s something about a couple of middle-aged white guys battling on social media that really just gets the juices flowing — the digital version of Balboa vs. Creed, pretty much.
That’s where NFL fans found themselves when ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio decided to spar over the NFL scouting combine’s official 40-yard dash time for Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate.
Tate, a projected 1st round pick, was timed at 4.53 seconds, which is fast for a normal human but slow for an NFL wide receiver trying to get picked in the 1st round.
“He’s pretty slow,” Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane said during the NFL Network’s broadcast. “I probably wouldn’t take him early.”
The scouting combine’s times and testing are rarely brought into question, but Schefter chimed in, saying the clock was wrong.
“Ohio State WR Carnell Tate, a potential top 10 pick, was timed by several NFL executives and GMs on Saturday with a 40 time in the range of 4.45-4.47 seconds,” Schefter wrote on his official X account on March 1. “Although the combine registers official times, teams always conduct their own timing, and those measurements with some teams were lower than his clocked 4.52.”
Some people saw a problem with Schefter seeming to question the process.
Florio Hints Schefter’s Take Bought And Paid For
Florio clapped back in a story on Wednesday, insinuating that Schefter’s take had been bought and paid for.
“… Some are seeing through Schefter’s ‘report’ as an effort to do a favor for Tate’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus,” Florio wrote on March 4. “It’s part of the gig, and it’s something that — to the trained eye — is instantly recognizable … 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.”
The clap back from Florio got a quick response from Schefter, who wrote “Just to prove you’re wrong, again,” on his official X account along with screenshots from what appeared to be several text messages asking people who were timing Tate from the stands in Indianapolis and all seemed to have had him timed at under 4.5 seconds.
The problem? It doesn’t say who any of the texts were from.
It’s not the first time the 2 NFL insiders have sparred on social media.
Carroll Report Caused Bickering Between 2 Insiders
In December 2024, Florio reported that Schefter was reporting former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll wanted another shot at being a head coach in the NFL and Schefter was doing so at the behest of Carroll’s agents.
“It’s hard to fault Carroll’s agent for trying to use the media to get the word out about Carroll. That’s the agent’s job. It’s not the media’s job, however, to engage in quid pro quo P.R. for coaching candidates,” Florio wrote. “It’s one thing to express authentic and organic and unsolicited opinions … It’s another thing to let your strings be pulled by ‘sources’ (probably only one source, but making it plural always sounds better) who want to get their back scratched — and who will return the favor, possibly many times over.”
Schefter quote-tweeted Florio’s article in rapid fashion.
“Everything you say here is 100 percent wrong,” Schefter wrote. “Keep up the guess work and Merry Christmas.”
Caroll was hired as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders on January 25, 2025 — almost 1 month after Florio’s article — and fired after going 3-14.
Controversy Over Ohio State WR’s 40-Yard Dash Time Sparks Wild Media Battle