Boston, Concepcion remain limited on Thursday

A limited practice to start the week is usually nothing more than maintenance. Boston should still be a safe bet to suit up on Sunday. The second-round rookie has already cemented himself as an impressive downfield threat with three touchdowns and three catches of 40+ yards. He’s managed several spike weeks despite the Browns’ up-and-down performances on offense. Health permitting, Boston will be a low-end WR3 for Week 6 versus Baltimore.

Boston’s score was his third in five games as a pro. This one was a 29-yard strike down the left sideline where Boston won a 1-on-1 matchup with CB Brandon Stephens. Boston’s yardage totals are not popping off the page in this limited offense, but his play-making ability has been. He has also reached at least 40 yards all five times out, giving him a non-zero floor. The rookie second-rounder continues to press his WR3 case heading into Week 6 against the Ravens.

Boston has now led the Browns in receiving in three of the team’s first four games, made more impressive by the fact that those were the first four contests of the youngster’s professional career. The second-round rookie continues to flash big play potential after catching his third pass of 46 yards or longer, this time unable to find the end zone after scoring twice in his first two games. Boston still has room to grow considering he has seen just 22 targets in the first month of the season, and could reward fantasy managers that invested late-round picks in his services handsomely in the second half of his rookie year. He’ll be an upside FLEX option against the Jets in Week 5.

What to do with this info? Stash Boston at the very least. Per Palmer, the Browns “felt he was a true pro from the day he walked into the building.” In the same pre-Thursday Night Football news dump, Palmer said that Harold Fannin is the team’s No. 3 pass catcher, despite Fannin leading the team in targets. This could indicate that the Browns plan to ramp up Boston’s offensive involvement as the season progresses.

This comes from Palmer’s pre-Thursday Night Football notes. After sharing the info, he tells readers to “read into that how you want.” Fannin currently leads the team in targets (18), though rookie WRs KC Concepcion (17) and Denzel Boston (15) are right behind him. If Palmer’s report is accurate, Fannin could slip to third in target share as the season progresses, but he remains a very talented player and target earner, deserving of a weekly TE1 ranking. Just file this away for now.

Boston’s 41 yards were his fewest in three games as a pro, though he has now contributed at least one 20-yard catch all three times out. On the rare occasions Deshaun Watson actually throws down-field, he’s looking only for Boston. That will lead to some spiked weeks, but Boston’s floor is too low to rank him inside the top 36 on a regular basis, including Thursday’s short-week home date with the Steelers.

It’s the rookie’s second touchdown grab in as many weeks. After catching an intermediate pass from Deshaun Watson, Boston spun out of a tackle and raced to the end zone for a 55-yard score — by far the biggest play of the game. Boston is cementing himself as the clear WR1 in the Cleveland offense, well ahead of KC Concepcion — who had another inefficient day on Sunday — and Jerry Jeudy, who did not catch his lone target against Tampa. Boston will have plenty of deep league fantasy appeal in Week 3 against the Panthers.

Boston saw a few deep targets from Deshaun Watson against the Jaguars, ultimately capitalizing with a 46-yard score in the fourth quarter. It came with the game out of reach but we got a taste of how Todd Monken would like to utilize the 22-year-old rookie. He started on the outside for Cleveland and led all wide receivers in snaps, though that may have been inflated with much of the offensive volume coming with the Browns down four scores in the second half. Boston looks to be a boom-or-bust WR5 play for Week 2 against the Buccaneers.

Monken has stressed explosive plays as an important part of the Cleveland offense headed into the 2026 regular season. “Obviously having explosive players helps that,” Monken said. “Being able to scheme it up against certain looks and then being able to execute because your protection has to hold up when you get those opportunities. I’m confident in Deshaun and our ability to push the ball down the field, otherwise we wouldn’t be starting him.” That confidence might be misplaced considering Watson completed just 1-of-6 attempts for 20 yards and an interception on downfield passes in the preseason and was among the league’s worst deep ball passers in 2024, when he threw downfield on a career-low 27 percent of his attempts. Once an elite deep ball thrower, Watson will look to regain form coming off two torn Achilles, entering his age-30 season. Perhaps rookie WR Denzel Boston will be a boon for Watson’s downfield game in 2026.

Boston, who ESPN’s Benjamin Solak compared to Sam LaPorta after viewing Browns training camp, looks to have a locked in role with the Browns early. We wouldn’t necessarily say that Boston is a lock to be fantasy-useful, but Todd Monken has been well-regarded as an offensive mind and Jerry Jeudy didn’t exactly light it up last year. It’s certainly in the range of outcomes that Boston puts up a WR3/WR4 type of year as a rookie.