KC

Concepcion

Concepcion’s day appeared to be over late in the third quarter when he limped off the field with a non-contact injury. Concepcion was unable to put any weight on his leg and needed to be helped off the field by trainers. He was then on the field to return a punt ahead of Cleveland’s next drive. The rookie made it stunningly clear that he was fine in the fourth quarter with a 64-yard receiving touchdown. Sanders hit him for a long gain and Concepcion outran two Saints defenders for his first career touchdown. With 221 receiving yards over his past three games, Concepcion is heating up just in time for the fantasy playoff hunt. He will be in the WR3 mix versus the Texans next week.

Deshaun Watson threw for 324 yards, but almost all of those were to tight ends and running backs. Concepcion did have a nice gain of 24 yards on one catch but was rarely involved apart from that. He did play 55 of the team’s 67 snaps and run a route on 44 of their 49 dropbacks, so the role is great, but the offense and quarterback play will likely keep him an inconsistent fantasy option.

The Browns slot man shredded the Tennessee secondary from start to finish. Coming into the game with a season-high of 64 receiving yards, Concepcion eclipsed that mark in the second quarter and didn’t look back. He continually shed tacklers against a low-effort Titans defense and functioned as the centerpiece of the Cleveland passing game. He led the Browns in targets, mostly seeing designed short-area throws from Deshaun Watson. In a Browns offense with a top-10 neutral pass rate, Concepcion should be a weekly top-36 option in PPR formats. He’ll get the Steelers in Week 8.

Concepcion should be treated as a PPR WR3/WR4 tweener this week in a good matchup against the Titans. With Denzel Boston also active, we likely won’t be seeing any major explosions here. Concepcion-reliant managers would accept any explosion at this point as he’s found it hard to crack 50 receiving yards so far.

The Browns’ short-area target earner is banged up, but he still has a chance to play in Week 7 against the Titans. Ideally, Concepcion will upgrade to full participation tomorrow. If he remains limited, he may end up being listed with a questionable tag. Stay tuned.

The rookie wide receiver has been awfully banged up over the past two weeks. He suffered a concussion in Week 5, yet managed to play in Week 6. Unfortunately, he did not leave the contest unscathed, picking up two lower-body injuries. Hopefully, he resumes practicing fully tomorrow.

Concepcion’s six targets led all Browns players, while his 37 receiving yards were good for second-most behind Jerry Jeudy. Concepcion’s biggest play of the game came on a 17-yard reception in the third quarter that helped set up the Browns’ first scoring drive of the afternoon. Concepcion had a red zone carry inside the Ravens’ 10-yard line that resulted in only a one-yard gain, but it’s always good to see his coaches trusting him in the valuable areas of the field. We are still waiting on his first breakout game, but the volume continues to be encouraging. Concepcion will be a fringe WR3/WR4 next week against the Titans.

Concepcion will have some low-end WR3/FLEX appeal with four teams on bye in PPR leagues. He simply hasn’t been able to find much space with his opportunities so far, with two 25-yard catches and 16 other catches that went for just 99 yards in his first five weeks of action.

He’s still in concussion protocol, but it looks like he’ll have at least some chance of clearing before Sunday’s game against the Ravens. Concepcion would struggle to be more than a FLEX option here even if healthy, so fantasy managers should probably look at alternatives this week.

It’s a remarkable turn after Concepcion was knocked out cold on the field in Week 5 against the Jets. If Concepcion is able to practice in the coming days he should be active for Week 6 against the Ravens. The rookie leads the Cleveland offense with a 23 percent target per route rate, used primarily as a gadget player near the line of scrimmage. He would be a flex option in PPR formats if he suits up against Baltimore.