‘Mini Tyreek Hill’ eyed for potential vacant WR1 role amid head coach’s admission of ‘silly’ QB battle

Much more is going on at Cleveland Browns training camp than just a quarterback battle.

Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson are slugging it out to be QB1 in Week 1 but away from the constant agenda under center, two rookies are making waves.

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First-round wide receiver KC Concepcion and second-rounder wideout Denzel Boston have been amongst the most impressive players at Browns training camp thus far.

“It’s clear Boston and fellow rookie KC Concepcion are Cleveland’s most gifted receivers,” the Athletic’s Zack Jackson wrote.

“Concepcion gave the team a brief scare with an awkward landing on a shoulder, but he’s shown big-time speed and an ability to adjust to the ball when running routes over the middle.

“Boston has consistently used his size to position himself to make contested catches and has clearly earned the trust of Sanders and Watson.”

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Fans have been particularly impressed with Concepcion, who has been described as a ‘mini Tyreek Hill’.

However, the glowing report on the rookie spells bad news for Jerry Jeudy, who is attempting to recover from a tough 2025.

In his first year with Cleveland, joining via a trade with the Denver Broncos, he posted career highs of 90 catches and 1,229 yards.

Jeudy followed that Pro Bowl campaign in 2024 with just 50 receptions for 602 yards and two touchdowns in a fairly miserable Browns offensive season.

Jackson’s assessment speaks volumes as to how impressive the rookies have been this summer.

“It feels like Jerry Jeudy’s time as the de facto No. 1 wide receiver is coming to an end… but it’s too early to know how things will shake out,” Jackson added.

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Who will start as quarterback for the Browns?

Instability at quarterback is unlikely to have helped Judy, but regardless he still needs to prove his Pro Bowl season wasn’t an outlier.

That instability is what new head coach Todd Monken is still trying to solve, just a week before they open the pre-season against the Chicago Bears.

Monken has yet to give any serious clues other than one player will start in Week 1, and then that the other will get the runout and the whole public conversation has left him confused.

“It’s close, people somehow think that, like, I have some hidden agenda, or like there’s some preconceived notion,” Monken has told the media during his avaliability.

“Is that what they think I would do? I would just split the reps if I didn’t think it was a competition? That would be really silly. If I thought one was the starter, I’d give him the ‘one’ reps.”

Monken is clear. He isn’t managing a media-driven quarterback battle, he is conducting a full evaluation of all parties.

The quarterback battle might have dominated headlines, but the rapid ascension of Cleveland’s rookie wideouts suggests the offense is finally assembling the necessary firepower to turn things around.