The Cleveland Browns got one of the flashiest players in the 2026 NFL Draft to solve one of their biggest issues. On paper, KC Concepcion is the big-play specialist and versatile playmaker this team has craved for a while now.
Concepcion is a one-play drive waiting to happen. His quick twitch, lateral quickness, and acceleration are second to none in this class, although he struggled with drops for most of his collegiate career.
Nevertheless, Daire Carragher of Pro Football Focus doesn't think drops will be an issue, at least not as much as his alignments. Given how often the Browns used their wide receivers in the slot, there might not be that many touches for Concepcion early on in the season.
"We previously noted that Omar Cooper Jr.'s slot usage does not align cleanly in the New York Jets offense. A similar situation exists for KC Concepcion in Cleveland, where Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman and Isaiah Bond all have career slot alignment rates above 30%," Carragher wrote.
Todd Monken may need to get creative with KC Concepcion
The Browns will have a new head coach and a new offensive coordinator in town. Clearly, most of what Kevin Stefanski did in the past couple of years didn't work, so it'll be up to Todd Monken to shake things up.
Concepcion was also a first-round pick. As such, the team must do whatever it takes to put him in a position to succeed.
Concepcion has drawn comps to Zay Flowers, and Monken is more than familiar with that type of player. Monken had Concepcion line up all around the formation during rookie minicamp, moving him before the snap, and having him line up outside and in the slot.
If Concepcion can match Flowers' production in Monken's offense over the past three years, the Browns would be in business. Flowers had at least 858 receiving yards and four touchdowns in every season, and Concepcion has similar traits in terms of acceleration and the ability to create separation.
Even if Monken doesn't want to shake things up and will continue to use Tillman, Jeudy, and Bond heavily in the slot, Concepcion can do it all. Per Pro Football Focus, he played 92.7 percent of his snaps in the slot as a freshman, then 82.1 percent in Year 2, and finally just 34.4 percent in his final year in college. He's not a one-trick pony, and he should do just fine regardless of where he lines up for the Browns.
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