While the Cleveland Browns have quickly established that they have one budding star at wide receiver from the 2026 NFL draft class–Denzel Boston, a second-round pick–the first-round receiver the team took from Texas A&M, KC Concepcion, has had his struggles. That’s not all his fault, of course. Three weeks into his career, Concepcion does not seem to have formed strong chemistry with quarterback Deshaun Watson, even as Browns coaches seek to get the speedy Concepcion the ball in space.
But that is a function of a lack of experience playing in the slot as much as Concepcion does. That role requires him to make multiple reads on every play and change his routes accordingly. He needs to see where the defense lines up, and if he changes his route plan because of it, there needs to be confidence from Watson that the two are on the same page.
That, it appears, is not yet the case.
Deshaun Watson: KC Concepcion Needs ‘More Reps’
Again, that is a challenge not only in this Browns offense, but for any rookie adjusting to playing in the slot in the NFL. Hopes were high for Concepcion, but so far, he has 12 catches for 80 yards, an average of just 6.7 yards (and 25 of those yards came on one play). Concepcion also has four carries, but those plays have been pretty useless–one jet sweep went for 10 yards, and the other three totaled minus-1 yard.
Watson spoke about the difficulty for Concepcion on Tuesday.
Said Watson: “It’s just, again, there’s different looks. At the same time, these guys are rookies, KC and (Denzel) Boston. Especially playing any receiver, or any person that knows that playing in the slot in the NFL is a lot. It’s a lot of different moving parts, a lot of different coverages. They can match, they can zone off, you got linebackers, defenders. So, it takes some time to be able to recognize all the different coverages and things that defenses can do.
“And it’s week to week. Every team is different. You’re not going to get the same that you did in Tampa versus Carolina, same thing moving forward on Thursday night. So, that’s just kind of, the more reps, the more experience that we get playing with each other and seeing the same thing, it’ll get better for sure.”
Browns Nearly Had Pass Intercepted
There was one incompletion thrown to Concepcion by Watson in the Browns win on Sunday that the QB used as an example–a play that was nearly intercepted by the Panthers. That was the result of a wrong read by Concepcion, Watson said, and he talked about it with him after the play.
More from Watson: “You might feel like he’s zoning off, but with your return route, you don’t necessarily pit, you just keep coming underneath it. So, that’s what I was telling is just it’s reps again, being on the same page. I’m expecting him to return underneath that DB and kind of catching the run, but he kind of sat, and I threw it inside, and the guy made a good play. So, you know, you learn, you watch the tape, you correct it, and the next time we’ll be on the same page.”
Browns Deshaun Watson Gets Honest on Rookie’s Struggles