Drops were an issue for Cleveland Browns rookie KC Concepcion in college. But with the help of wide receivers coach Christian Jones, he's taking the necessary steps to fix the main weakness in his game.
Almost every rookie enters the NFL with something to improve on.
For the Cleveland Browns rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion, that thing is obvious. Concepcion's college tape revealed a potentially concerning number of dropped passes at times, some of which weren't his fault.
It wasn't alarming enough to keep the Browns from drafting him 24th overall in April's NFL Draft, though. They believe it's not something that will hold him back from being a productive player at the next level.
Cleveland's wide receivers coach, Christian Jones is also doing his part to ensure Concepcion can fix it.
"I think what I try to focus on, it probably goes back to something you do in Day 1 when you're playing receiver is looking the ball into the tuck," Jones said at minicamp earlier this month. "A lot of receivers catch it. A lot of concentration drops come when they catch it, they start looking to see who they got to make miss, where they're going down the field. And that's where the ball tends to fall out because on the way to the tuck, they lose sight of it and they lose control of it."
Concentration drops was the exact term Concepcion himself used to describe the biggest flaw in his game. Jones certainly plays a role in correcting the issue, but it's on ultimately on Concepcion to take the coaching and work on it.
Since he arrived in Berea, the Texas A&M product hasn't run from the fact that the drops are part of his game. He also seems bound and determined to get it corrected.
"I have had drops. But it’s more so concentration, just focusing on the balls," he said back on draft weekend. "So, I’ve been working non-stop at it every day. So, it’s going to get fixed for sure."
That starts on the practice field. While fans may be focused on what's happening during 11-on-11 drills where the full team is going against each other, it's the individual position drills that will go a long way for rookies like Concepcion honing in on certain pieces of his game.
Jones has plenty of ideas that he has already utilized this spring to help Concepcion's cause.
"It's always seeing it into the tuck and then adding distractions into every catch. Every drill that we have, we try to have some kind of distraction," explained Jones. "So as soon as we do that, I think it makes everything a little bit easier for them, and you just try to build the routine and turn that into a habit."
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