If the San Francisco 49ers want to draft a speedy wide receiver in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, they could do worse than Texas A&M deep threat KC Concepcion.
The only problem is that he was one of the buzziest prospects at the NFL Combine.
Some reports suggest that Concepcion had 23 formal meetings with teams at the combine, so there are clearly a lot of teams who are interested in his potential.
Many mock drafts have Concepcion going to the 49ers in the first round of the draft, but if a team ahead of them fell in love with him, then the Niners may be forced to go another route.
The one saving grace is that there are a lot of highly regarded receivers in this year's class, and Concepcion is not seen as the best receiver in the draft. He will probably have to be the fourth or fifth guy off the board at that position if San Francisco is going to have any chance to draft him.
Concepcion is known for his speed and his ability to make explosive plays. There's a reason that he was used as a punt returner in college, and he took two to the house last season, so he has that dangerous speed that would make him a nightmare for opponents and a dream for the Niners.
Having a threat like Concepcion could be the key for the 49ers if they want to be more competitive in the NFC West going forward. That sort of speed could help counter the elite defense the Seattle Seahawks currently have and would give head coach Kyle Shanahan a weapon that he sorely missed last season.
But with so much buzz around the 21-year-old target, the only way the 49ers may be able to draft him is by trading up for him. They have been willing to do it before as they traded up in the first round a few picks back in 2020 to select Brandon Aiyuk. That got Shanahan a solid receiver, and it was clear how much the team missed Aiyuk last season as he did not cooperatte with the team coming off his major knee injury.
No one knows how the draft will turn out. Maybe teams met with him just to fool other teams and make them think they might draft Concepcion when they acually plan to go another direction.
Maybe the Niners will get lucky and he will be there at the No. 27 pick, but the buzz suggests that probably will not be the case.