5 Questions with Dawgs By Nature: Containing KC Concepcion is Priority No. 1

As the Jacksonville Jaguars prepare to face the Cleveland Browns in Week 1, we exchanged questions with Chris Pokorny of Dawgs by Nature to learn more about the opposing side.

Question 1: The Browns have a brutal QB situation and traded away a legendary defender. Do you expect Cleveland to still be competitive this season, or has the race for Arch Manning already begun?

If the Browns had just received draft picks only, then it would have been a clear signal that the race for Arch Manning (or whatever quarterback) has already begun. But, the fact that Jared Verse was part of the deal was huge, and reportedly the only reason Cleveland agreed to it. Granted, Myles Garrett is in a league of his own as a two-time defensive MVP, but the fact of the matter is that Cleveland consistently had losing seasons even with his talent. Verse allows the team to still maintain a solid presence at his vacancy, and the defense in general still has the rest of the pieces that has made it successful over the years, including not allowing a 300+ yard passer in…I think it’s been 45 games? Cleveland’s defense will allow them to be competitive on any given Sunday, but the big question mark is how the offense will perform, which I’ll try to touch on more in your other questions below.

Question 2: If we disregard final standings/draft order, what would a successful 2026 season look like for the Browns?

A successful season for Cleveland would be if the offensive line builds some chemistry together, the young wide receivers look worthy of the draft spots they were taken, and the team has crystal-clear clarity as to how their quarterback situation will be handled next offseason. That could involve Shedeur Sanders (at some point) getting a chance to start and blowing people away, or it could involve Deshaun Watson continuing to be a liability and everyone confirming that “Cleveland is right there in terms of contention, but now we can use as many draft assets as we need to for drafting a quarterback in 2027.”

Question 3: What are your expectations for first-time head coach Todd Monken? Have there been any positive or negative signs this offseason?

Todd Monken seems to be in a unique position where this is going to be his only shot at being a head coach in the NFL. Even if he doesn’t say it, he knows that Cleveland could be transformed with a new quarterback next year, so if he wants to be part of that, the team needs to play relatively well. The quarterback play holding the team back will not be a red mark on him. If he makes dumb coaching decisions and the team loses motivation quickly, then he’ll be kicked to the curb and there will be no qualms about starting over next offseason.

In general, he’s been fine this offseason. We’ve seen elements of the Ravens’ offense incorporated, and he’s inheriting a solid defense. He often talks candidly and has fun stories to listen to. The only thing that somewhat irked me earlier this offseason was during the quarterback competition, Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders would alternate first-team reps every other practice. Prior to one practice, Monken clearly said Sanders was going to get the first-team reps that day, but then when practice started, Watson got all of the reps instead, which made the media go into a frenzy about what it meant. The next day, when Monken was asked about it, he essentially said he changed his mind to balance things out and didn’t need to update the media. Which, on one hand I understand, but it just seems weird to switch it up so close to practice starting — like, shouldn’t that have been well-decided already?

Question 4: What problems could the Browns pose for the Jaguars this week?

The Swiss Army knife utilization of KC Concepcion can be a problem. Taken in the first round, we heard some good and bad things about him. But, through all of training camp and the preseason, this guy looks like he has that “it” factor. He has caught everything. He is effective on jet sweeps. He can be used on any route, he can stretch the field, he can return punts. He looks like the type of player who could be an instant Pro Bowler, and he was having success in camp regardless of what quarterback is throwing him the ball. Watching him is by far the No. 1 thing I’m eager to see at the beginning of the regular season, because we’ve seen this tremendous offseason, and now I want to see that it transforms to regular season action.

Cleveland’s defense is also poised to remain a problem. Their defensive front has several top-tier players, and their secondary remains consistent. Having a new defensive coordinator, we still don’t know if the unit will suffer any dropoff from that, but I’m banking on them remaining a well-oiled machine.

Question 5: Do you expect the Browns to cover as 8.5-point underdogs, and do you have a favorite player prop for the game?

There are times when Cleveland can fall apart later in games from a snowball effect of negativity, but for as bad as they were last year, they still remained highly competitive in a lot of games. The Browns’ entire offensive line from last year is either retired, out of the league, or a backup on other teams in 2026, and the Browns went out and got five new starters. That could be a disaster in terms of chemistry, but also, it can’t get any worse than last year. With that improvement, plus a significant upgrade at wide receiver, the Browns have more pieces to be a better team than they were a year ago. The quarterback position might continue to hold them back from being a playoff team, but they should easily be right in these games, so I’d take the Browns to cover the 8.5-point spread.

With how much I hyped up WR KC Concepcion above, I think it’s a solid bet to take the over on the 33.5 receiving yards for him.

Thanks to Chris for taking the time to answer our questions.

Let us know your thoughts on the matchup in the comments below!