The 2026 season is off to a much better start than expected for the Cleveland Browns, and a big reason why is the promising contributions from the team’s rookie newcomers. Among those newcomers are two wide receivers who have already made a ton of plays in KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston.
Boston has been more productive, leading Cleveland with 284 receiving yards on 13 receptions, while also adding two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. He’s clearly the receiver who quarterback Deshaun Watson has the most chemistry with, and Boston has already emerged as the go-to wideout for the Browns.
While the rookie may already be Cleveland’s No. 1 wide receiver, he’s still a first-year player, which means he has a lot to learn and plenty of space to grow. One spot where Boston has to develop is his ability to hand fight and compete on contested catches.
Denzel Boston must master the art of hand fighting as Browns lean on him as top receiver
To be clear, this isn’t a criticism of Boston. He’s four games into his NFL career and has already surpassed where he was expected to be at this point. This is simply to highlight an area where he has to improve as he continues his development into (hopefully) an elite receiver.
This need to improve showed up early in Cleveland’s Thursday night win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the first quarter of the game, during the Browns’ second offensive series, Watson targeted Boston deep down the left sideline. The pass was perfectly placed, but it deflected off the receiver’s left hand as his right arm was being held back. The play should have been a defensive pass interference, but it wasn’t called.
Two plays later, Watson tried Boston deep again, this time down the right sideline. Again, Boston was being grabbed before the ball arrived, and he was unable to complete the catch. Just like the first play, the referees incorrectly held onto their flags.
It’s easy to look at those two plays and give Boston grace since they should have been defensive pass interferences, especially since the rookie receiver went on to catch four passes for 89 yards in the game. However, those are also learning moments for the young wideout, because he could have been better on both catch attempts.
One of the underrated skills of playing wide receiver is hand fighting. Much like offensive linemen, defensive backs do a little bit of holding and illegal contact on just about every play. The best receivers understand that they aren’t always going to get the benefit of a flag, so they fight back.
Watch any of the best receivers in football and you’ll see constant hand fighting and maneuvering of their upper body, making it hard for defenders to prevent them from getting to the ball.
Beyond being active with their hands to avoid getting held or restricted, the best receivers also find ways to make plays through contact.
Looking at the best WR1s, currently in the game (and all time), their best catches are usually accompanied by a defensive pass interference that may or may not have been called. The competency of the referees isn’t the point, the fact that the receivers still made the catch is. To be a true No. 1 wide receiver, you have to find a way to go get the ball in less-than-ideal circumstances.
Denzel Boston already has the skill he needs to fix his biggest NFL weakness
The good news is that contested catches were Boston’s biggest strength entering the NFL. His college tape is filled with plays of him dunking on defensive backs, and that’s how he quickly caught everyone’s attention when he first arrived in Cleveland. Throughout the offseason program and training camp, Boston routinely pulled down the ball with defenders all in his space.
For whatever reason, that skill set hasn’t shown up yet in games. It could be that Boston is still getting adjusted to the speed and strength of actual NFL games, and he could also still be learning what he and defenders are allowed to get away with. Either way, it’s fair to assume Boston will start converting those opportunities eventually.
Thankfully, the rookie wideout is still extremely productive while he’s figuring things out, and he’ll only get better.
Add us as a preferred source on Google