Patriots draft profile: KC Concepcion might be the best separator in the class

Experience

Colleges: NC State (2023-24), Texas A&M (2025)

Career statistics: 38 games (37 starts) | 1,783 offensive snaps, 92 special teams snaps | 293 targets, 185 catches (63.1%), 2,218 receiving yards (12.0/catch), 25 TDs, 19 drops | 70 carries, 431 yards (6.2/carry), 3 TDs | 2-for-4 passing (50.0%), 45 yards (11.3/attempt), 1 TD | 30 punt returns, 501 yards (16.7/return), 2 TDs, 1 muffed punt | 2 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offset)

Accolades: Consensus All-American (2025), Paul Hornung Award (2025), First-team All-SEC (2025), Freshman All-American (2023), Second-team All-ACC (2023)

Concepcion came in contact with football at an early age and was hooked right away. He gained experience at multiple positions before settling into a wide receiver and kick return role at Julius L. Chambers High School in Charlotte, NC. An eventual three-star recruit, he received scholarship offers from multiple Power Five programs, including N.C. State.

Concepcion joined the Wolfpack in 2023 and right away became a major contributor. A Freshman All-American selection, he finished his two-year stint in Raleigh with 1,655 scrimmage yards and 18 total touchdowns. Toward the tail-end of the 2024 season, however, he announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal — a move that resulted in him being courted by some of the top programs in the nation.

He eventually decided to join Texas A&M, where he finished his college career with an impressive junior season. Concepcion hauled in 61 passes for 919 yards, gained 75 yards on 10 carries, and averaged 18.2 yards per punt return. He also scored a combined 12 touchdowns and for his efforts earned consensus All-American designation as an all-purpose player as well as the Paul Hornung Award recognizing the most versatile player in the country.

Draft profile

Projected round: 1-2 | Consensus big board: No. 25 | Patriots meeting: 30 visit

Strengths: Concepcion is one of the most electric players in this year’s draft due to his combination of explosivity and versatility. He is a true do-it-all player who can line up in all three receiver spots, move into the backfield, go into motion and even be a major factor in the kicking game after averaging 16.7 yards per punt return in college. You put the ball in his hands and magic can happen, as evidenced by the fact that he averaged 12.0 yards per catch and 6.2 yards per run while also finding the end zone a combined 30 times between offense and special teams.

His fluid and efficient lower body — he can turn on a dime — make him a threat on screen passes and other designed touches, and also allowed him to regularly get open versus man coverage (78.3% success rate, via Matt Harmon’s Reception Perception). He can win against every coverage, though (83.2% success rate vs. zone), because he is a three-level threat capable of running a full route tree from every spot in the lineup, whose technical makeup, body control, nifty footwork, feel for space and overall juice are superb.

Weaknesses: Even though Concepcion caught 185 passes in college, he has had his issues running consistently crisp routes and attacking the ball at the catch point. His hands are uneven, and he drops or double-catches too many passes. He also fails to extend the catch window due to a lack of height (28th percentile) and length (11th percentile). In general, he is an undersized player who could run into trouble against physically superior opposition at the NFL level. He also will not be much of a contributor in the run game unless he can add to his frame without compromising his agility.

Patriots preview

What would be his role? Primarily a perimeter receiver in college, Concepcion is able to flourish at any position. Given his size constraints and mediocre power, however, he would probably focus on playing the Z or the slot upon entering his NFL. Nonetheless, as a quasi-replacement for Stefon Diggs, he likely would see starter-caliber snaps in the Patriots offense from early on in his career.

Does he have positional versatility? As mentioned earlier, Concepcion is able to do a little bit of everything on the football field. Would the Patriots lean into that? Possibly, even though they might want to try to get him up to speed before throwing a wide array of responsibilities his way.

What is his growth potential? Despite an impressive college résumé and more than 1,800 career snaps, Concepcion is still far from a finished product. If he can get proper coaching to improve his weaknesses and simultaneously keep building on his defining attributes, he very well has the makeup of a starting Z/slot receiver and volume target at the next level.

Why the Patriots? Building their offense around one of the best young quarterbacks in football, Concepcion would be a tremendous fit because of his versatility and ability to get open against man coverage (something, as we discussed, was not a strong suit for New England’s wideouts in 2025). He would be an immediate upgrade over most other wideouts on the roster, and given his profile potentially make more than one receiver expendable. A starting trio of Concepcion, Romeo Doubs and, potentially, A.J. Brown would be of a high quality.

Why not the Patriots? A.J. Brown is one of the main reasons why Concepcion might not end up in New England. If the team indeed invests a high draft pick into the current Eagle — say a 2027 second-rounder — it might be more hesitant to also use a 2026 first to draft Concepcion. As for the 21-year-old himself, he still has plenty of work to do across the board and the team simply might not view him as an immediate upgrade over its current personnel.

One-sentence verdict: Concepcion might be the best natural separator in the entire draft class, and as such would instantly give the Patriots offense a boost.

For more information about KC Concepcion and the rest of this year’s class of prospects, please take a look at Adam’s 2026 NFL Draft Guide.

Also, what do you think about Concepcion as a potential Patriots target? Do you like him? Where would you pick him? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.