Cleveland rookie receiver KC Concepcion has breakout performance with 8 catches for 129 yards

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Cleveland rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion Jr. showed Sunday exactly why the Browns made him the 24th selection in the NFL draft.

The 6-foot receiver turned in the best performance of his young career with eight catches for 129 yards — all of which came in the first half of the Browns' 27-24 win over the Tennessee Titans . He also had three carries for 23 yards, displaying his slithery ability to elude defenders.

Concepcion considers Sunday a preview of the coming attractions.

“To be honest, I enter every week expecting to have a game like this,” Concepcion said. “This week was my breakout game. I just can’t wait to keep stacking weeks.”

Concepcion caught eight of the 10 balls thrown to him with one missed reception in each half. The first was when Deshaun Watson tried to find him deep inside the final two minutes of the first half, and the other came early in the third quarter on another long pass.

“KC is going to make that play more times than not, but we still used him to run the ball a little bit,” Cleveland first-year coach Todd Monken said. “He’s hard to bring down. He is a weapon.”

Concepcion had five of the 10 longest plays for Cleveland (5-2) with a 32-yard catch his longest play of the game. Tennessee sat starting cornerback Alontae Taylor for a second straight week; this time he dressed but did not play. Safety Kevin Winston Jr. credited Concepcion with finding room to work from the slot position.

“He got put in a great position to get open and he had a great game, so a bunch of respect to him,” Winston said. “But we got to get back and make that doesn’t happen in the future.”

Watson said one play they failed to connect on could have been a touchdown as he tried to take advantage of the Tennessee defense.

“I gave him the ball, and he wasn’t really expecting it,” Watson said. “Those are the things, being a young receiver and still building that confidence and that chemistry with each other, that it’ll get better for sure.”

The rookie took the blame for the drop, something he said he's been working on.

“I let that one get away from me, man,” Concepcion said. “It would have been my first one on the season. But I felt like I did a great job not dwelling on the play, not being too focused on a drop and moving on. And on the end around, I finally got my number called again, and I made a play.”

Concepcion also is talking more with Watson to make sure he knows what his veteran quarterback expects from him. The rookie leads the Browns in catches with 30 and is second to fellow rookie Denzel Boston (372) with 315 yards receiving this season.

“Me and Deshaun, our chemistry, it’s still growing,” Concepcion said.

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