Browns NFL Draft: Grade A+
The Cleveland Browns had a very – checks notes- successful first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. This is not usually how it goes. The Browns have been plagued by some bone-headed moves in years past, mostly due to poor trade execution and bad scouting judgment, but on Thursday, they get full credit for pulling off what looks to be a great early start to the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Browns traded back from the sixth overall pick with the Chiefs. They moved back three spots and gained a 3rd rounder (74th overall) and a 5th rounder (148th) and still got, in my opinion, the best offensive tackle in the first round. The Browns selected Spencer Fano from Utah. The 6’6, 311lb offensive lineman is an instant starter and a big win for the Browns. Fano is described as the cleanest OL in the Draft Class. Technical prowess with strong hands.
The Browns then took wide receiver KC Concepcion from Texas A&M 24th overall. A player whom many experts ranked in the top 15. CBS Sports graded both of the Browns’ first-round selections an A+, and I personally agree.
Both first rounds should start for the Browns this season, and fantasy owners will be excited to see what Concepcion can do in year one.
Concepcion spent his first two seasons at NC State before transferring to Texas A&M ahead of the 2025 campaign and finished his lone year in College Station with 61 receptions for 919 yards and nine receiving touchdowns. He also led the SEC with 460 punt return yards and added two punt return touchdowns. He earned first-team All-SEC honors at three positions: wide receiver, return specialist, and all-purpose. He played 65.5 percent of his 2025 snaps outside and 34.3 percent in the slot.
The Browns went into the draft with one of the league’s thinnest receiver rooms. Jerry Jeudy, 27, returns as the most accomplished veteran. Cedric Tillman is back. Isaiah Bond, John Metchie III, and free-agent signing Tylan Wallace round out the group with Luke Floriea and Gage Larvadain in depth roles. Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. led the team in catches, targets, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns last season with 72 receptions for 731 yards and six scores, all franchise rookie records. With David Njoku gone in free agency, Fannin is now the unchallenged top tight end. Concepcion projects as the highest-volume new addition to a passing game that finished near the bottom of the league.
The Concepcion pick is also a Todd Monken move. Monken is in his first offseason as Cleveland’s head coach after the Browns fired Kevin Stefanski. Monken’s most recent stop was as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator from 2023 through 2025, where Zay Flowers had the best fantasy season of his career as a versatile, separation-based receiver. Concepcion fits that archetype.
The quarterback room remains the variable. Monken has said all three of Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel will get reps with the first, second, and third teams during camp. Watson is more than 15 months removed from his second Achilles surgery. He initially tore the Achilles on October 20, 2024, against the Cincinnati Bengals, then re-ruptured it during rehab and underwent a second procedure on January 9, 2025. Sanders, who returns for his second NFL season after going No. 144 overall in 2025, started seven games last season and finished with 1,400 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions on 56.6 percent passing. Gabriel started six games and threw for 937 yards. Combined, the three Browns starters last year produced fewer passing yards than every team but the New York Jets.
Concepcion is built to absorb work in multiple areas of the offense. He is expected to contribute on offense and as a punt returner from the start. His fantasy ceiling will rise with whoever wins the quarterback job. If Watson can give Cleveland average-level play or Sanders takes a meaningful step in his second NFL season, Concepcion has the volume profile to push for an immediate role.