BEREA ― Neither was the first player the Browns selected in April’s draft. However, the importance both KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston hold to the team’s success this season is every bit as significant as what top pick Spencer Fano provides.
That weight is perfectly fine to them. They’re ready to carry it with them.
“I would say I know that we are rookies but, I mean, I don’t even look at it like that,” Concepcion said before the Browns’ ninth training camp practice Aug. 7. “We’re all pros. They brought me in, then Denzel, to make plays. So I mean, we got to make them.”
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The good news for the Browns is that both rookie wide receivers have shown up to training camp seemingly ready to make every play their way. It could be argued that Boston, the No. 39 overall pick in the second round, has been the offensive Most Valuable Player in camp through nine practices.
The former University of Washington standout has been good for about one highlight-reel grab a practice. Outside of the sixth camp day, when he struggled with a couple of drops, and the most recent practice, when he struggled with cornerback Denzel Ward guarding him, Boston has pretty much been the best wide receiver on the field.
“I didn’t have any doubts just because I come into everything I do very confident,” Boston said Aug. 3. “I try to just be confident in everything I do. There’s definitely been highs and lows. Some practices are better than others. Some days you make highlight plays, some days you make the routine plays. And when you make a lot of highlight plays, those routine plays feel like that’s just normal. So it’s all been valleys. That’s how I go. Football’s valleys, but yeah.”
Boston may have the highlights, but Concepcion has not been too far behind his fellow rookie. The No. 24 overall pick in the first round has made plenty of plays himself.
That includes a play in the eighth practice on Aug. 6 when Concepcion went up and grabbed a touchdown pass from Shedeur Sanders on a crossing route. That came three days after he gave everyone a scare by coming down on his right shoulder on one of the final plays of practice Aug. 3 and suffering what the medical staff has diagnosed as a sprain of the AC joint.
Concepcion, though, didn’t miss practice because of the injury, although he was held out of team drills the next day as a precaution. He acknowledged it was a moment that had him on edge.
“A little bit,” Concepcion said. “I never really had an AC injury before, so it was kind of weird for a little moment. But I’m good now.”
One thing that has helped Concepcion through the ups and downs that are the typical rookie’s journey is Boston’s going through the exact same thing. The two being not just rookies together, but in the same position group, has allowed for a bond to develop.
Concepcion said Boston has been someone he’s been able to lean on through their still infant-stage NFL careers. It’s allowed for the kind of conversations necessary to help each of them deal with the anxiety and everything else a rookie can go through during training camp.
“Yeah, I mean, we talk every day,” Concepcion said. “We talk all the time. If he is having a down day, I have his back. If I’m having a down day, he has my back. We talk to each other about route concepts. If I don’t know something, he will let me know. And if he doesn’t know something, I’m there for him also.”
The Browns would love to see the duo blossom together into one of the NFL’s top pass-catching pairs. The reality is they won’t be asked to carry all of the weight, with veterans Jerry Jeudy and Tylan Wallace, as well as second-year pro Isaiah Bond also expected to be in the wide receiver group.
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There’s also coach Todd Monken’s belief in the tight ends as key parts of his passing offense. The presence of Harold Fannin Jr. in that group alone should also ease some of the weight on the rookie duo.
“Honestly, I think we mesh very well together,” Boston said. “We have the quick, fast, twitchy guys. We got tall guys to go make plays above the rim. And then I think we’re just meshing very well and I think that we’re able to make plays across the board.”
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: How Browns rookie duo of KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston view expectations
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
