There was some serious buzz building around the Cleveland Browns and their ascending young core entering last week’s season opener, to the point where ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler labeled them a deep sleeper.
“I'm not declaring that Cleveland will make the playoffs just yet,” Fowler wrote ahead of the season, “but there's legitimate talent on both sides of the ball.”
The talent is undeniable, but it didn’t translate in Week 1 against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that head coach Liam Coen had primed and ready to go. Cleveland committed 11 penalties, lost the turnover battle 2-0, and left sweltering Florida with a 34-10 defeat that wasn’t even that close.
The embarrassing performance left Browns fans searching for silver linings.
On a positive note, first-round rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion was one of them.
It wasn’t perfect, but Browns rookie KC Concepcion passes his first NFL test
Concepcion had his welcome-to-the-NFL moment in the first half, losing a fumble that Jacksonville quickly turned into six points.
Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus wrote about the debut of every first-round rookie, and if not for that one blemish, Concepcion would have graded out among the league’s best.
“Concepcion was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise ugly day for the Browns,” Wasserman wrote. “He caught all four of his targets while gaining 43 yards. He also took three handoffs and picked up 15 rushing yards and a first down. Concepcion’s biggest blemish on the day was a fumble on a screen pass, which serves as the biggest detriment to his 61.8 PFF receiving grade.”
Concepcion’s hands were a big topic of conversation coming out of the draft, but that revolved around drops, not fumbles. His explosiveness was on full display throughout training camp and Cleveland’s first preseason game, but as a 190-pound receiver, he’ll need to prove that he can absorb big hits and secure the football.
Physical mistakes happen to every player, though, and the best sign for the Browns is how Concepcion responded. He made an explosive reception in the second half and wound up averaging 7.5 yards per touch.
KC Concepcion’s role in the Browns’ offense is only going to continue to expand
Cleveland couldn’t get the running game going, and with Deshaun Watson at quarterback, the passing game focused on the short-to-intermediate areas of the field until the game was well out of hand.
Those limitations should lead to more touches for Concepcion going forward. He’s Cleveland’s most explosive player. If you remove Watson’s 46-yard touchdown pass to Denzel Boston with under two minutes remaining in a 34-3 blowout, the Browns averaged a meager 4.6 yards per play in the season opener.
Statistically, Concepcion was right there with fellow rookie wideouts Antonio Williams and Boston, who the Browns used a second-round pick on in the 2026 NFL Draft. Much like his preseason debut against the Chicago Bears, Concepcion looked NFL-ready against the Jaguars.
Concepcion finished his first NFL game with eight total touches, and that was with the team managing just five first downs in the first half and 14 total. Double-digits in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is not out of the question, and the 21-year-old should only continue to ascend from here.
KC Concepcion Week 1 grade: B
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