Projected Role & Competition
The Browns made Concepcion the fourth WR off the board in this spring’s draft, selecting him 24th overall. He joins a WR corps with fellow rookie (and 39th overall pick) Denzel Boston and 27-year-old Jerry Jeudy.
Concepcion wins with quicks and versatility, whereas Boston is more of a prototypical “X” receiver at 6’4, 212 pounds. The rookies will be competing for targets but won’t be working the same areas of the field typically.
Jeudy is closer to Concepcion in play style and deployment. He has run 42% of his career routes from the slot, although that sank to 19% last season. Jeudy posted 1,229 yards in 2024 but is coming off a disappointing 50-602-2 line in 17 games last year.
Cleveland also returns TE Harold Fannin Jr., who’s coming off a 107-target, 72-catch rookie season.
TE David Njoku was the only significant departure from last year’s pass-catching corps. He averaged 4.0 targets across his 12 games last season.
Concepcion’s talent and draft capital make him a good bet to play a big role right away, with the potential to lead the WR corps in targets.
Supporting Cast
The 2025 Browns finished bottom-3 in all major passing categories, and QB play remains a big concern.
Deshaun Watson is the early favorite to start, but he’s working back from a twice-torn Achilles. He wasn’t good with Cleveland even before those injuries, averaging just 6.0 yards per pass attempt across 2022-2024.
The Browns also return second-year QBs Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. Neither was good as a rookie, averaging 6.6 and 5.1 yards per attempt, respectively.
Cleveland is favored in just one game this season and implied for 17.9 points per game, the lowest in the league.
Coaching & Offensive Scheme
The Browns canned HC Kevin Stefanski and OC Tommy Rees after the 2025 season and replaced them with HC Todd Monken and OC Travis Switzer.
Monken confirmed during his introductory press conference that he'll call offensive plays. This is his first NFL head coaching gig, but he has seven seasons of OC experience (three with the Buccaneers, one with the Browns, and three with the Ravens).
Monken’s Ravens teams were run-heavy, due in large part to having QB Lamar Jackson and RB Derrick Henry. But he leaned pass prior to that, with three of his first four offenses ranking higher in pass attempts than rush attempts.
Here’s where Monken’s offenses have finished in total WR PPR points:
- 2016: 10th
- 2017: fifth
- 2018: first
- 2019: 19th
- 2023: 23rd
- 2024: 26th
- 2025: 26th
Paths to Ceiling
Concepcion is a dynamic and versatile receiver who can also add fantasy value with rushing production.
He joins a relatively weak Browns WR corps and could immediately lead in targets.
If he gets better-than-expected QB play, Concepcion could emerge as a WR3 option for fantasy teams.
Risk Factors
The Browns are projected to be one of the worst offenses and passing games in the league, denting Concepcion’s 2026 outlook.
There’s also a chance that the team views him as a slot-first receiver and limits him to 3-WR sets.