KC Concepcion was the new kid on the block in 2025 for Texas A&M.
Concepcion arrived in College Station as arguably the top wide receiver in the transfer portal that year after two seasons at North Carolina State. Despite the talent, there was still a transition, both on and off the field he had to go through to acclimate.
“Well, the one thing that you can’t tell on film is the type of person that he is, like how he’s a leader on and off the field,” Texas A&M offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins told the Beacon Journal in a phone interview. “He’s intrinsically motivated. So he’s a guy that has some self-determination, so it’s not like you have to get on him because he’s already kind of holding himself accountable.
“And then his practice habits were probably one of the biggest factors that as a benefit to us, just watching him show up every day and basically lay it on the line for his teammates and for himself.”
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Concepcion turned that into a season in which he led the Aggies with 919 receiving yards, posting an SEC-best nine receiving touchdowns and 456 punt-return yards, while winning the Paul Horning Award as college football’s most versatile player. Texas A&M won its first 11 games of the season and earned its first College Football Playoff berth.
A new year means another new situation for Concepcion after having been selected No. 24 overall by the Browns. He arrives in Cleveland as one of two wide receivers drafted in the first two rounds, along with second-round pick Denzel Boston, to give more weapons for new coach Todd Monken to work with.
“I think he’s going to fit in really well,” Wiggins said. “You talk about a guy that you can go out there and play all three to four spots, can run the route tree really good in the screen game. I know Todd did a lot of that with [Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowl wide receiver] Zay [Flowers]. … I think, shoot, the world’s going to be his oyster. So I’m pretty sure Coach Monken is going to get somewhat creative to be able to create some opportunities for him to play against those nickels or safeties in the league.”
The wide receiving corps Concepcion is joining is long on unproven talent and short of established targets. The only wide receiver in the room with any sizeable resume is Jerry Jeudy, with whom Wiggins is intimately familiar.
Before coming to Texas A&M, Wiggins was the wide receivers coach and, eventually, assistant head coach from 2019-23 under Nick Saban at Alabama. His first season with the Crimson Tide coincided with Jeudy’s final year there.
“There’s no better substitute for experience,” Wiggins said. “Jerry’s been there for or been in that league for a minute, so he can tell him the ins and outs of what it takes, but also what it takes to stay there. Because that’s the biggest thing, when guys get there, how can I continue to basically hit on the rise or keep this ascension going while continuing to basically master my craft and master what I’m doing and be a pro at that.
“I think KC was trying to take those steps at A&M, making that transition as smooth as possible. But I think Jerry can sit there and show him ropes of some of the things that he did, what he learned, what to do and what not to do.”
Jeudy, who followed up his Pro Bowl 2024 debut season in Cleveland with a disappointing 2025, isn’t quite the same wide receiver as Concepcion, at least, not in terms of their size — Jeudy is 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, and Concepcion is 5-11 and 190.
Wiggins, despite the different frames, said he sees a similar kind of athlete in both. It’s not just something he sees in their physical makeup.
“Jerry, like I would always tell people, he had the loosest ankles that I’ve ever seen in my life,” Wiggins said. “The ability to step outside of his frame, plant and drive off and accelerate out of the cut was second to none. You talk about a guy like KC. I think with all of those guys — him, Jerry, and also KC — they have an alpha mindset.
“So those guys, when they basically step foot on the field, they feel and they are confident that they are the best players out there. There’s unbelievable toughness between the two.”
As wide receivers, there are other ways Wiggins can compare the two. Jeudy has been known for route-running since he arrived in the league, and that’s an area in which Concepcion made clear strides over his three college seasons.
Both, though, can gain separation when they get their hands on the ball. The route-running and the separation are traits Wiggins said both share.
“Both of them have the ability to adjust, really great acceleration, unbelievable body control,” Wiggins said. “And when you talk about playing a receiver position, you got to have the ability to drop your weight and sink your hips and get in and out of breaks. … You give Jeudy an inch, he’s going to be able to take it to the house. You’ve seen KC with a ball in is hands, whether it’s punt return and averaging the 18-point-whatever yards a punt return or just him being able to stretch the field vertically or catch it underneath and still sit there and basically take it the distance.”
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There’s one more connection Browns fans may point out between the two. Jeudy led the NFL in 2025 in drop rate for players with at least 100 targets at 15.3%, and his nine drops were tied with Jameson Williams and Davante Adams for most in the league.
Concepcion’s biggest knock is his 19 career drops, including seven in each of the last two seasons. He’s talked about his focus on trying to correct the issue, which Wiggins said he saw him take seriously while with the Aggies.
“We talk about if you want to be receiver one, you got to make receiver one catches, and we need you at your best at those moments,” Wiggins said. “… We all get to a point where we can beat a guy, see the ball in the air, already work through our mind, and we get this little moment of where we relax.
“I think when you allow that little inkling of relaxation to basically come in, whether he’s sitting there taking his eyes off the ball or not necessarily kind of finishing the catch and looking it in, now the drop happens … So I think when we started going to the lab and talking about it, KC was probably his biggest critic.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: KC Concepcion’s former coach compares him to another pupil, Jerry Jeudy
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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