KC Concepcion — Week 3: Nine Targets, Two Catches
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 28
Concepcion was thrown to 9 times, tied for the most in the game, and caught 2 for 9 yards; the 4-yarder converted fourth and three at the Carolina 38. Two more throws his way in the last three minutes did not count: a 5-yard catch wiped out by an illegal shift, and an interception erased by roughing the passer, in a 21–18 win over the Panthers.
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18 to 13, Panthers, two 36 left, second and 15 at the Carolina 29. Deshaun Watson threw deep right for KC Concepcion and Akayleb Evans intercepted in the end zone. It did not count: Bobby Okereke was flagged for roughing the passer, 15 yards to the 14, and Watson was hurt on the play. The snap before, Concepcion had caught five yards to the 19, and that did not count either, wiped out by an illegal shift on Malachi Corley. Three snaps after the roughing call, Harold Fannin caught the touchdown that won the game.
The line that stands: nine targets, two catches, nine yards, one first down, 36 air yards, −1.9 expected points on the targets — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position. The first down was the four-yarder: fourth and three at the Carolina 38 on the first snap of the second quarter, nothing to nothing, short right to the 34, +2.9 expected points. That drive ended in a punt. The other catch was five yards on first and 10 at the Carolina 43 with 10 59 left, down 12 to 10, on the drive that ended in Cleveland's go-ahead field goal. The seven incompletions: two in the first quarter; first and 10 right after the fourth-down conversion; a deep middle ball 19 yards in the air in the second quarter; third and five at the Cleveland 10 in the third; and back-to-back throws on first and second down from the Cleveland 33 with a little over three minutes left in the third, on a drive that ended in a punt. Five targets before halftime, four after. He also returned a punt three yards in the first quarter, with a Cleveland illegal-block penalty on the play.
Nine targets tied Fannin for the most on either team, 30 percent of the 30 Browns throws that named a receiver; Raheim Sanders had five and Denzel Boston four. Seven of the nine fell incomplete.
Back in June the preview's frame for Concepcion was a first-round pick, a Hornung Award as the country's most versatile player, and a quarterback question; it called a return job real weekly usage and a target share a hope. Week 1 was a team-high five targets and a lost fumble. Week 2 was six targets, every one caught, for 28 yards. Sunday was the most targets of his three games and the fewest catches. Through three games he has 20 targets, the most on the Browns, 12 catches and 80 yards. The share the preview hoped for has shown up; what it has turned into is four yards a target. Three games settle little about either. Cleveland is home to the Steelers on Thursday the first.
_Data via nflverse._
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