Is KC Concepcion the Next Deebo Samuel? 2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report & SPS Grade

Updated May 21, 2026

Deebo Samuel was the 36th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of South Carolina, taken by San Francisco to be the chess piece that helped Kyle Shanahan lead the 49ers to two Super Bowl appearances. He spent his first six years building a hybrid-WR template before being traded to Washington in March 2025 for a fifth-round pick. The Cleveland Browns just selected KC Concepcion with the No. 24 overall pick in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft. The 5-foot-11, 193-pound receiver won the 2025 Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in college football and finished third nationally with 20.0 yards per punt return.

Concepcion spent his first two college seasons at NC State before transferring to Texas A&M for 2025, where he totaled 61 receptions for 919 yards and nine touchdowns. What does Concepcion’s film say about the prospect, and will Concepcion’s analytics share the same sentiment as his film? Further, will he score high enough to make the top 10 all-time WR SPS list?

The Film Breakdown: Pros & Cons

We all should be looking at both film and analytics as we know they go hand-in-hand. The following consensus film critiques are derived from looks into Concepcion’s game film. These highlight the positive and negative traits Cleveland just bought into with the No. 24 overall pick:

The Pros (The “Elite” Upside)

• Explosive Run-After-Catch Profile: Bleacher Report calls Concepcion “an explosive playmaker in space” who “puts defenders at odds” once he secures the football, and credits his toughness, elusiveness, and explosiveness for extending plays after the catch. (Bleacher Report)
• Sudden Releases And Route Breaks: PFF’s 2026 Draft Guide notes that his suddenness in his releases and route breaks lets him consistently create separation, grading him 9/10 for change-of-direction acceleration and 9/10 for change-of-direction flexibility, with his best fit projected as a hybrid Z or slot receiver. (PFF)
• Suddenness And Twitchiness: Concepcion brings a “level of suddenness and twitchiness to the Cleveland Browns offense.” They go on to further explain how his run after the catch ability is what separates him from other receivers. (Cleveland.com)

The Cons (The Refinement Needs)

• Recurring Focus Drops: Bleacher Report flags that Concepcion has experienced focus drops throughout his career and must improve his hand mechanics at the next level. (Bleacher Report)
• Limited Frame And Contested-Catch Ceiling: PFF notes that his shorter arm length and stride length appear to cap his overall ceiling, and Bleacher Report adds that longer playmaking corners can create issues for him in contested-catch situations. PFF also gives him just a 5/10 for play strength and blocking, projecting that “teams will likely avoid relying on him heavily in that role.” (PFF, Bleacher Report)

For dynasty managers, the Deebo comparison is now head-to-head with their draft capital similarly aligned. Samuel went to San Francisco at Pick 36 in 2019 and was eventually traded to Washington in March 2025 for a fifth-round pick. Concepcion arrives in Cleveland at Pick 24 with a more defined runway: the Browns’ depth chart has Jerry Jeudy ahead of him per their depth chart, but the slot role appears to be where Todd Monken’s offense will deploy him. Mike Garafolo framed the fit as “quickness and burst on the way to Todd Monken’s offense in Cleveland.”

The Browns’ QB room is where the comp gets complicated. Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel sit atop the same ESPN depth chart, with no clear identity on who will take the QB1 role long term. The fantasy ceiling may end up being the same Deebo archetype – jet motion, return-game eligibility, and three-down upside. Quinshon Judkins taking touches as the lead back also matters with his breakout rookie season, because Monken can stack RB-WR plays that help get Concepcion’s punt-return-ability in the open field.

Samuel’s 2019 rookie year produced 57 receptions for 802 yards and three touchdowns on a 49ers team without an established WR1, then he exploded into a 1,405-yard season in 2021. Concepcion does not need a 1,400-yard rookie year for the comp to land – he needs a high-leverage hybrid role where the manufactured touches scale with his college-leading punt-return profile.

What Is KC Concepcion’s SPS Grade?

For those of you who aren’t familiar, The Star-Predictor Score (SPS) is a scouting tool designed to maximize investment potential and reduce risks when drafting rookies in Fantasy Football. It is proven to have a higher accuracy than draft capital alone to predict fantasy football success. The SPS includes 13 to 17 metrics, with the exact number varying by the player’s position. All metrics are pre-NFL – and some are proprietary to BrainyBallers – providing a complete analysis of a player’s analytical profile. The SPS gained widespread notoriety for its high accuracy, having made it on Barstool and The Pat McAfee Show. The SPS database can be found here, and future projected SPS grades can be unlocked here.

As the Pat McAfee crew noted when reviewing our top 10 all-time prospects graphic: “They haven’t missed… those are all the guys they predicted would be stars and they hit on all of them.” 

The Verdict

Can KC Concepcion’s path lead him from “transfer-portal Hornung winner” to a featured Deebo-style weapon now that Cleveland has staked Pick 24 on him? The film points to real upside – sudden routes, elite punt-return value, and a Hornung-stamped versatility profile. The landing spot – a slot/Z role open next to Denzel Boston, Jeudy, and Tillman, plus immediate special-teams reps the moment he steps on the field – is undeniable. The dropped-pass and contested-catch concerns are real, but they are coachable issues attached to one of the most explosive after-the-catch profiles in the class. The Star-Predictor Score measures the 17 pre-NFL metrics that separate dynasty WR1s from dynasty WR3s, independent of all subjectivity. The answer to where Concepcion’s official SPS grade falls is one click away. Is his profile built for the long haul?