KC Concepcion Camp Update — August 23: Catching From Both Quarterbacks

KC Concepcion spent Thursday's joint practice in Orchard Park catching passes from both quarterbacks — Deshaun Watson opened the competitive periods with accurate throws to Concepcion, and Shedeur Sanders connected with him on routes later in the session, per Scott Petrak at BrownsZone, all of it against Buffalo's defense rather than Cleveland's scout team. The week's other entry came from the roster-stock ledger: Nick Pedone at Browns On SI, on August twentieth, listed Concepcion among five Browns who flipped depth charts this preseason, describing him as among the most impressive offensive players since spring and noting his usage as a punt returner and pre-snap motion man.

Saturday's game, though, passed him by. No touch, target, or return for Concepcion appears in any account of the 31 to seven loss to Buffalo that we can attribute — Petrak's preview said the top rookies "could" see action, and the reporting afterward names Luke Floriea, Blake Whiteheart and Gage Larvadain as the pass-catchers of record. Whether Concepcion played and got nothing, or mostly watched, is not stated anywhere we found, and we won't guess.

Back in June we drew one distinction for this rookie: a return job is real weekly usage, a target share is a hope. The evidence keeps stacking on the usage side — first-team receiver reps, the motion role, the punt-return job, and now joint-practice targets from both halves of the quarterback competition. The hope side, actual receiving production in games, is still one catch column short of existing: his headline plays this preseason remain a rushing touchdown and a punt return.

The checkable things this week: whether Concepcion draws real targets in the preseason finale, and whether the punt-return job is formally his when the 53 is set on Sunday, August thirtieth. We'll check after cut day.

_Data via nflverse._