{"id":263883,"date":"2026-04-24T04:41:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T04:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/263883\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T04:41:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T04:41:07","slug":"cleveland-browns-select-texas-am-wr-kc-concepcion-with-no-24-pick-in-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/263883\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Browns select Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion with No. 24 pick in 2026 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage<\/a> of the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

The Cleveland Browns took Texas A&M receiver KC Concepcion with the No. 24 pick of the 2026 NFL Draft<\/a>. He was the fourth wideout selected and the first pass catcher from A&M in the first round since Mike Evans in 2014.<\/p>\n

Concepcion emerged as one of college football\u2019s most dangerous and versatile playmakers in 2025. He finished third among FBS receivers with 1,450 all-purpose yards, led the Aggies in receptions (61), receiving yards (919) and receiving touchdowns (nine), returned two punts for touchdowns and rushed for a score.<\/p>\n

He proved to be a vital offensive weapon in Texas A&M\u2019s march to its first appearance in the College Football Playoff. Concepcion was productive in all three of his years, catching at least 50 passes each year. He burst onto the scene as a true freshman at NC State with 71 catches for 839 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning freshman All-America honors. In two seasons with the Wolfpack, he combined for 124 catches for 1,299 yards and 16 scores before transferring to Aggieland prior to the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Beast\u2019 breakdown<\/p>\n

Concepcion ranked No. 21 in Dane Brugler\u2019s top 300 big board<\/a>. Here\u2019s what Brugler said about Concepcion in his annual NFL Draft guide<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cAn urgent, gliding athlete, Concepcion isn\u2019t all the way there yet, but he has come a long way with his route running. He has the lower-body agility to elude the jam and is very intentional with his steps and body language, which allows him to gain vertical separation or detach at the top of routes. He isn\u2019t the most natural hands-catcher (10.3 percent drop rate in 2025), although he will benefit from a more receiver-friendly quarterback in the NFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cConcepcion must cut down on the drops and fine-tune areas of his game, but he is a versatile playmaker with an innate feel for getting open before the catch and creating after it. He has the receiving talent to become a starting slot or Z while also providing value as a punt returner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coaching intel<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what an anonymous SEC defensive coordinator said in Bruce Feldman\u2019s mock draft<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe torches guys with his burst. You gotta know where he is because he could kill you with bubble screens or slants, and he\u2019s gone before you know it, and no one is catching this dude. His hands are shaky. If he can become more consistent, he\u2019ll be a star in the NFL.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick Baumgardner grades the pick<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/p>\n

Concepcion\u2019s ability to go from 0 to 60 in a hiccup is unmatched in this class. He moves like a jet ski on smooth water, whether in a straight line or in and out of breaks. A terrific athlete in space who can make tacklers look silly after a catch or on a kick return, Concepcion is one of the most electric playmakers in this class.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also small at 5-foot-11, 196 pounds and has had major drop issues throughout his career. His role is going to be limited offensively in the NFL, and while you should be able to get special teams juice here, your quarterback is going to need to be much better than Cleveland\u2019s current situation to make this pick really sing.<\/p>\n

Mike Sando\u2019s assessment<\/p>\n

I had a good conversation with a coach earlier Thursday about Concepcion, the receiver that Cleveland just selected in the first round. The coach said some will see Concepcion as smaller and suited for the slot, but he thinks Concepcion can win outside as well, as opponents will be wary about jamming him.<\/p>\n

How he fits<\/p>\n

Concepcion can fly, and the Browns need playmakers of all kinds. So while he may never be a true No. 1 receiver, he\u2019s explosive enough to create big plays and to get open at various levels of the defense. Concepcion had a knee scope last month, but the Browns believe he will be ready to practice at some point in May or June. \u2014 Zac Jackson<\/p>\n

Depth-chart impact<\/p>\n

The Browns have a screaming need for wide receiver help, so Concepcion will contribute immediately. He\u2019s not a finished product, and the Browns\u2019 new offense will continue to evolve, but Concepcion will be on the field, and Cleveland will have scripted touches for him. The Browns are really only committed to wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman for 2026, so consider Concepcion the first piece of an ongoing (and necessary) remake of the position group. \u2014 Jackson<\/p>\n

They also could have picked<\/p>\n

The team considered doubling up on offensive linemen in the first round and also could have picked Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, but the Browns need playmakers, so they trusted Concepcion. If they wanted a bigger outside wide receiver, they could have selected Washington\u2019s Denzel Boston. \u2014 Jackson<\/p>\n

Fast evaluation<\/p>\n

This was always a fit, and the Browns get to keep their extra picks in case they want to trade up at some point on Friday. Concepcion needs to clean up the drops and get comfortable in an NFL offense, but the Browns believe he\u2019s elusive and fast enough to become an instant contributor. \u2014 Jackson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns took Texas A&M receiver KC…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[13275,7717,80,27,260,29,28],"class_list":["post-263883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-fantasy-football","tag-nfl","tag-texas","tag-texas-am-aggies","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}