What if we told you that, in 2025, 19 wide receivers had more than 1,000 receiving yards?
Or that 12 wide receivers had more than 80 catches? And that 31 wide receivers had at least six touchdown catches?
Now, what if we told you that the Cleveland Browns did not have a wide receiver even come close to hitting any of those marks?
If you have been paying attention, you already know that last part, as Jerry Jeudy “led” the wide receivers in Cleveland last season with a modest 50 receptions for 602 yards
and two touchdowns.
It wasn’t all the fault of Jeudy and the rest of the gang, of course, as historically poor play from the quarterbacks was a major contributing factor. But it also represented a major drop off for Jeudy after he posted career highs in receptions (90) and receiving yards (1,229) in his first season with the Browns.
General manager Andrew Berry was clearly paying attention. While he was not able to fix the quarterback position, he did get aggressive about the wide receivers with the selection of KC Concepcion (first round) and Denzel Boston (second round) in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Addressing the problem with high draft picks is something the Browns have not been keen on in recent years, with the third round (Anthony Schwartz in 2021, David Bell in 2022, and Cedric Tillman in 2023) being more the sweet spot.
Concepcion and Boston will be expected to contribute right away, given where they were drafted and the wide receiver room they are walking into, so they will have to continue to put in the work, according to receivers coach Christian Jones:
“Expectations are great, but it’s all about the work they put in. I think we all expect that from them. That’s the standard we’re going to hold them to, but it’s always up to them on what they’re going to be able to do and what they want to do themselves.”
The Browns are going to be young at the position, with second-year wide receiver Isaiah Bond joining the rookies and Jeudy to round out the top four. But if Bond can take a step forward after a full offseason of work, and Concepcion and Boston are as productive as everyone hopes, then Cleveland will be on the right track, even if Jeudy can’t prove that his 2024 season was an outlier.
But if the other guys can take some of the pressure off of Jeudy and he gets back to the player he was two years ago, then the Browns may actually have a wide receiver that opposing defenses have to fear.
Which is why the selection of Concepcion and Boston checks the box as one of the best moves of the offseason by the Browns.
