Browns' WR draft picks are really about replacing Shedeur Sanders originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. sounded excited that the Cleveland Browns drafted a pair of early wide receivers to catch passes from Shedeur Sanders.
And he's not wrong in the sense that K.C. Concepcion and Denzel Boston will surely get work with Sanders in the early going.
But the reality here is that the 24th and 39th picks weren't made to turn Sanders into a star.
They were made to figure out if, and how, to replace him.
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The Browns may have felt without a good receiving group, they couldn't properly evaluate Sanders' level.
They may have also felt that if and when they replace Sanders, they would want to have a quality WR depth chart for whoever the next QB might be.
That quarterback might come as soon as the 2027 NFL Draft's first round, a guy like Arch Manning or Dante Moore.
This wasn't a good year for drafting an early quarterback, and so the Browns built up the offense instead.
But Cleveland isn't building for the guy they took 144th overall in 2025.
They're building for whoever might be the first or fifth or ninth pick in 2027.
Sure, it does help make the season ahead more tolerable if Sanders has guys to throw to. It may even reveal that Sanders is a quality long-term backup, or even a borderline starter.
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But the Browns aren't picturing Concepcion and Boston as catching passes from Sanders five years down the road. Nothing Sanders did as a rookie suggests that kind of long-term starter role.
He might not even start in 2026, if Deshaun Watson has any say about it.
Regardless, Concepcion and Boston don't yet know who their long-term Cleveland QB will be, because no one knows yet. It just doesn't seem like it'll be Sanders.
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