Cleveland Browns rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion spent most of his first NFL training camp bouncing between quarterbacks. By the time the team wrapped its preseason work, he said the timing with Deshaun Watson felt locked in.
“Our timing is great,” Concepcion said. “I feel like our timing and relationship has grown so much. I can’t wait to finally put it on display for the whole world to see.”
That connection will get its first real test Sunday when the Browns open the season at Jacksonville. Watson has not taken a regular-season snap since tearing his Achilles against Cincinnati in October 2024. A later setback kept him out all of 2025.
New coach Todd Monken split first-team reps between Watson and Shedeur Sanders for much of camp and the preseason. Concepcion and fellow rookie Denzel Boston stayed with the starters anyway, which meant learning two different quarterbacks at once. Watson was not named the starter until Aug. 24.
Monken said the staff reviewed the full body of work from the spring through joint practices before making the call. He wanted the more experienced player for two early road games.
“Took in the full body of work over the course of offseason to training camp to the games and the joint practice, and ultimately, felt like to start the season on the road, Deshaun gave us the best chance to move the ball and score points,” Monken said.
Watson, entering the final year of the five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract he signed after the 2022 trade, treated the announcement as the payoff for two years of rehab.
“This is what I’ve been working for two years is to be able to show that I’m capable of being a starter,” Watson said after earning the job.
The Browns used the No. 24 overall pick on Concepcion in April. Media covering the team later voted him the Maurice Bassett Award winner as the most outstanding rookie in camp. He appeared in only one preseason game, catching three passes for 27 yards and scoring on a 14-yard jet sweep. He also returned a punt 31 yards.
Monken has made no secret of wanting the ball in Concepcion’s hands often. The coach called him explosive and tough with strong contact balance and a feel for situational football. Concepcion’s speed and ability to create after the catch give Watson a slot option who can turn short throws into bigger plays.
Boston, a bigger target, figures to work more on the outside.Watson has already seen enough from the two rookies to sound confident.
“I think KC and Boston have been doing a heck of a job picking up the offense, being able to learn from the veteran receivers in the room, but just making plays,” Watson said. “I think just being able to see them come out here and go up for balls, making contested catches, has been really good. I think they’re going to be very productive and helpful for this offense.”
Concepcion arrived with a versatile college résumé. After two seasons at North Carolina State he transferred to Texas A&M and posted 61 catches for 919 yards and nine touchdowns in 2025, adding 10 carries for 75 yards and another score. He also won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player.
Oddsmakers have not given Watson’s return much benefit of the doubt. The Browns opened the week as 7.5-point road underdogs, the second-largest spread on the Week 1 slate behind the Chargers’ 10.5-point home line against Arizona, according to FOX Sports. Some books have since moved the Jacksonville number to 8.5.
Cleveland’s offense is still something of a mystery. Monken overhauled the scheme after arriving from Baltimore, and there is no regular-season film of this particular group running his system. Jacksonville can study concepts from his previous stops, but the combination of Watson, Concepcion, Boston and the rest of the young skill players has not been seen together in a real game.
That uncertainty will vanish once the ball is snapped Sept. 13 at EverBank Stadium. For Concepcion, the opener is simply the first chance to show the work that happened while the quarterback job was still unsettled.
Watson’s tenure in Cleveland has been marked by injuries and uneven results since the 2022 acquisition. Healthy again and with a first-round receiver who already talks about their timing in glowing terms, he now has the stage he said he spent two years preparing for. Whether the connection holds up against a Jaguars defense that has seen plenty of film on Watson from earlier years is the next question.
The Browns will find out quickly. Concepcion, at least, sounds ready.
