The Cleveland Browns entered the 2026 NFL Draft as one of the first round’s biggest wild-card teams. By the time the dust settled, their Day 1 haul was actually quite predictable.
The dream scenario for GM Andrew Berry was well known by the time commissioner Roger Goodell took the stage in Pittsburgh on Thursday night. The goal was to execute a trade out of the No. 6 spot, with an eye on capitalizing on this year’s polarizing offensive tackle class. That the Browns were able to move back three spots with Kansas City, add two additional 2026 draft picks, and still land the first offensive lineman off the board in Spencer Fano was nothing short of brilliant.
Cleveland’s other first-round selection, No. 24 overall via last year’s trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, wound up being just as straightforward. The Browns hosted a slew of wide receiver prospects on 30 visits, and experts were convinced they wouldn’t leave Day 1 without at least one of them. They wound up selecting dynamic Texas A&M receiver KC Concepcion over the likes of Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr. and Washington’s Denzel Boston.
The only real intrigue for the Browns’ pick at No. 24 was which receiver they would take. Concepcion, Cooper, and Boston were all mocked to Cleveland at various points of the pre-draft process, and the most predictable tiebreaker was Concepcion’s most popular NFL comp: Zay Flowers of the Baltimore Ravens.
Both Concepcion and Flowers entered their respective NFL Draft years with versatile skillsets, dynamic run-after-catch numbers, and punt return upside. They also both carried the same flashing warning sign: drops. Concepcion dropped 19 passes over his three collegiate seasons; Flowers had 23 drops over his four years.
Berry acknowledged the comparisons to Flowers, who operated as the No. 1 option in the passing game during Todd Monken’s tenure in Baltimore as offensive coordinator. The Browns’ GM signaled one key difference, though, that may have been the deciding factor at pick No. 24 overall on Thursday night:
“I do think there are some similarities in terms of the movement skills, the twitch, honestly some of the questions regarding the hands coming out,” Berry told reporters after Day 1 of the draft. “I think the one thing that gets a little bit lost is KC’s a much bigger player than Zay. But I think there is some overlap in the characteristics. Look, if we get a player who’s comparable to Zay Flowers when we’re sitting here in three years — we’ll be elated.”
The Browns were sold on one underrated trait in KC Concepcion’s game
Concepcion was viewed as a borderline Day 1 prospect by most draft experts. He was the No. 33 overall player on FanSided’s top-50 Big Board. Had the Browns not taken him at No. 24, Concepcion may have slid into the early stages of Day 2 based on concerns over his hands and smaller stature at 5-foot-11 and 196 pounds.
But to Berry’s point, he plays with a lot more toughness than those measurements would suggest.
Concepcion’s drop numbers are certainly concerning, but it’s worth mentioning that the quarterback play for Texas A&M left much to be desired. He won 66.7 percent of the time in contested-catch situations while racking up 440 total yards after the catch. He was also a fearless punt returner, which helped him earn the 2025 Paul Hornung Award as college football’s most versatile player — an honor Travis Hunter earned in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024.
So while his traits are comparable to that of Flowers, he has a chance to be more than the electric joystick we’ve seen for the Ravens in recent seasons. Concepcion has the same playmaking upside with added grit and toughness that can’t be coached.
The Browns could have targeted a more prototypical outside-the-numbers winner like Boston at pick No. 24. Cooper Jr., fresh off winning a national title, felt like one of the most solid prospects available in the later stages of Day 1.
In the end, the appeal to Monken and the Browns was clear as day. It would not be a surprise to see Concepcion supplant Harold Fannin Jr. as the new dynamo of Cleveland’s passing attack right out of the chute.