Browns weighed a first-round jump for Washington WR Denzel Boston before landing him at No. 39

The Cleveland Browns secured wide receiver Denzel Boston with the 39th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but the team reportedly explored moving up to land him much earlier. Pro Football Rumors reported that general manager Andrew Berry and the Browns “strongly considered” Boston with the 24th selection, a spot Cleveland ultimately used on another wide receiver instead. The episode highlights the tight nature of NFL draft boards, especially at receiver, where teams try to balance fit, development timelines, and who might still be available when they pick.

Boston ended up in Cleveland because he remained on the board when the Browns went on the clock in the second round, after teams at the top of that range chose different priorities. Pro Football Rumors attributed Boston’s slide to the fact that the 49ers selected a different wideout at No. 33, pushing Boston into the range where Cleveland could take him at 39. The Browns also could have targeted him at multiple points ahead of the 39th pick, Pro Football Rumors noted, but other clubs in the 35-38 range opted for defensive players rather than adding Boston to improve their receiving corps.

While the Browns did not take Boston at No. 24, Pro Football Rumors’ account adds a second layer to Cleveland’s planning. The Browns used the 24th overall pick on wide receiver KC Concepcion, and Cleveland then considered ways to add Boston as well, including the idea of trading back into the first round. Pro Football Rumors framed the decision as an expectation that both receivers could become long-term starters, with Concepcion described as a more established complement inside the broader offense.

Boston’s path to the NFL has been built on ball skills and contested-catch ability, traits that translate when a team is trying to win on intermediate routes and in red-zone spacing. News 5 Cleveland WEWS reported Boston played four seasons at the University of Washington and finished with 20 touchdowns and 1,781 receiving yards, averaging 13.5 yards per catch. The same report described Boston as a bigger-bodied receiver (listed at 6-foot-4, 212 pounds) who gives the Browns another contested-catch option alongside a room that already included playmaking receiver Jerry Jeudy.

The Browns also publicly emphasized the organizational approach to building their receiver group. News 5 Cleveland WEWS said Berry discussed maintaining multiple skill sets in the room and indicated Jeudy was still the team’s “bell cow,” while Cleveland continued to add youth and different route and catch profiles. That framework matters because it shapes how the team can deploy receivers together, not just who is targeted on passing downs.

For what comes next, the immediate question is how quickly Boston’s role evolves within Cleveland’s receiver rotation. Pro Football Rumors suggested Boston and Concepcion were positioned to make early impacts based on the Browns’ depth chart at receiver, though offseason-to-regular-season timing is never guaranteed. Still, the Browns’ draft-day willingness to chase Boston earlier than where they landed him points to a conviction about his fit, and it sets a clear measuring stick for his development in training camp and the preseason. Fans should watch whether Cleveland uses Boston to command contested targets, and how the team balances that with Jeudy’s role as the primary separation-driven option.

The draft story itself also functions as a reminder that strategy can shift even when a team likes a player. The Browns considered Boston at No. 24 but instead made another receiver the centerpiece of the first-round pick, then secured Boston at No. 39. If Cleveland’s receiving corps gels in the way the team appears to be designing it, this two-step process could look less like indecision and more like roster construction by committee, using one pick to shape the skill-set baseline and the next to add a specific style of catching to round it out.