Draft classes rarely get judged fairly this early in a season, but every so often the numbers make it impossible to wait for a larger sample size before recognizing something special. Cleveland’s 2026 rookie group has already produced individual milestones, historical comparisons and now a fresh round of national grades that reinforce just how well this class has performed through two weeks.
Pro Football Focus laid out the specific grades putting Cleveland’s rookies near the top of their respective categories.
“Browns notable rookie grade ranks. Receiving grade among WR: Denzel Boston 2nd (74.3), KC Concepcion 4th (67.7). Pass blocking grade among OL: Austin Barber 1st (88.8), Spencer Fano 3rd (70.5),” PFF wrote.
Browns notable rookie grade ranks
Receiving grade among WR
Denzel Boston 2nd (74.3)
KC Concepcion 4th (67.7)Pass blocking grade among OL
Austin Barber 1st (88.8)
Spencer Fano 3rd (70.5) pic.twitter.com/J26RatMXOj— PFF (@PFF) September 21, 2026
Boston’s ranking comes as little surprise given the two weeks he has put together. He became just the fourth player in NFL history to record a touchdown of at least 45 yards in each of his first two career games, a stretch that helped push his Offensive Rookie of the Year odds from +1800 all the way to +700 heading into Week 3. Sitting second among all rookie receivers in grade backs up what the box score has already shown: Cleveland found a legitimate playmaker in the 2nd round.
Concepcion’s fourth-place ranking adds another name to that receiver room already generating buzz, giving the Browns two rookies inside the top four graded pass catchers at the position league-wide. That kind of depth at receiver, especially from a class that also includes a full season still ahead, gives Deshaun Watson multiple emerging options to target as defenses adjust to Boston’s big play ability.
The offensive line numbers carry just as much significance given how much scrutiny that group faced entering the season. Barber grading out as the top pass-blocking rookie lineman in the entire league lines up with his performance dating back to Week 1, when he earned the highest overall grade among rookie offensive linemen after stepping in for an injured Teven Jenkins. Fano’s third-place ranking adds further proof that Cleveland’s offensive tackle situation, an area many questioned heading into the draft, has stabilized far faster than expected.
Four rookies ranking this highly at two different position groups says plenty about what Andrew Berry has done the past year. With a full season still ahead and a Week 3 home opener against Carolina on deck, this class already looks like one of the more productive groups Cleveland has developed in recent memory, and the numbers suggest that trend is only getting started.
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