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KC Concepcion #1 of the Cleveland Browns

There is a line in the NFL.com scouting report for new Cleveland Browns star receiver KC Concepcion that remains the one nagging issue he will take into his rookie year–he dropped seven passes last season at Texas A&M and, as the league’s scouting suggests, Concepcion had, “Higher drop total working into the teeth of the defense.”

Nobody is perfect, and there is much in Concepcion’s game that can and should be raved about. He has an easy speed and quickness that make him tough to bring down, that set him up as a the kind of yards after catch threat the Browns do not have. He can do a little bit of everything on a team that needs a little bit of everything– he was a first-team All-American as an all-purpose player, and won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player.

But the hands are a concern coming into the season for Concepcion and as such, every time he loses the handle on the ball in an OTA practice or throughout minicamp and eventually into training camp, it will take on some significance.

Dropped Passes Were a Concern for the Browns in 2025

Indeed, the Browns were not great when it came to cinching the ball last season, with 27 total drops according to Pro Football Focus, including nine by No. 1 WR Jerry Jeudy. The Browns have been trying to do a better job of giving their starting quarterback–whomever it winds up being–more support, but dropped passes will be a problem that’s difficult to fix.

Cleveland.com Browns reporter Dan Labbe noted this week that it’s still an issue for Concepcion, and well be until he shows it isn’t.

Wrote Labbe in sizing up what was seen by the media at the Browns’ OTAs this week: “(Concepcion will) need to work on his hands. We have seen him drop a few passes in the limited time we’ve had to watch practice. At the end of Wednesday’s practice, he was unable to haul in a nicely thrown deep ball from Deshaun Watson. He’s vowed to improve his hands. In May, he gets the benefit of the doubt. Make a bunch of plays, and drops are easier to forgive. But it is something he has to improve.”

KC Concepcion Working ‘Nonstop’ on Limiting Drops

Now, on the Watson play to which Labbe is referring, it should be pointed out, that probably would not have gone down as a dropped pass–it was a diving effort, though a completely catchable ball. It’s the kind of play you’d like your WR1 to come up with, but no one is going to drum him off the roster for not making it.

Still, hands are going to be a closely watched issue for Concepcion. And it is something that Concepcion has been hoping to address, saying it has been a focus for him here in the offseason.

He told reporters after he was drafted last month: “After the season, I worked nonstop at it. I knew that, you know, that I have had some coverage and drops. So back in the season, off season, during the season, I am going to work non stop to fix that.”