The Cleveland Browns entered the 2026 NFL Draft with a clear mission: give second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders the weapons and protection he desperately lacked in 2025. Mission accomplished.
After a season where Sanders played behind a shaky offensive line and threw to what Pro Football Focus ranked as the league's worst receiving corps, the front office went to work. With the No. 9 overall pick, they grabbed Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano, a powerful blocker who should immediately upgrade the protection. Then they doubled down on offense by selecting Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion with their second first-round pick. Concepcion posted 61 catches for 919 yards and nine touchdowns last season, giving Sanders a reliable, explosive target.
If that wasn't enough, Cleveland used the No. 39 pick in the second round on Washington wideout Denzel Boston, who racked up 881 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 2025. The message was loud and clear: the Browns are building around Sanders.
Former Fox Sports personality Skip Bayless was quick to applaud the moves. “YESSSSS! Browns have now given Shedeur two receivers – a smaller lightning one (KC Concepcion) and a bigger faster one (Denzel Boston),” Bayless said. “Shedeur had the worst receiving corps in the league last season according to PFF. Not any more. And Fano will greatly improve poor protection.”
Fans echoed the excitement on social media. One wrote, “The Cleveland Browns are having themselves a DRAFT. Shedeur Sanders getting KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston and Spencer Fano is HUGE.” Another added, “Browns can’t be helping Shedeur anymore than they have this draft! Way to go [general manager Andrew] Berry.”
But before anyone crowns Sanders the undisputed starter, head coach Todd Monken threw a little cold water on the hype. During voluntary veteran minicamp, Sanders worked with the first-team offense, but Monken insisted the competition is far from over.
“The number of reps a player gets doesn’t eliminate competition. It’s just in a given day, let’s say for instance, you want to see a quarterback with the first group, the second group, the third group. Well, are you going to divide those reps up evenly? Are you going to divide up the reps everywhere evenly? I don’t see it that way,” Monken told reporters. “That doesn’t mean there’s not competition. I just see it as in a given day, and it’ll be daily in terms of who gets what reps and when, because we certainly want to allocate our reps to the players we feel like are going to give us the best chance to win.”
So while the roster upgrades have fans dreaming of a breakout, Sanders will have to earn the job this summer. Still, with the draft haul Cleveland put together, it's hard to argue that anyone benefited more from the 2026 NFL Draft than Shedeur Sanders. The Browns didn't just add pieces—they built a foundation around their young quarterback.
For more on the draft's biggest winners and losers, check out Mel Kiper's 2026 NFL Draft Winners: Raiders, Cardinals Top His List. And if you missed the chaos of the first round, the 8-minute clock controversy had everyone talking.
