CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – A football player from Charlotte will see his NFL dreams come true this week.
Kevin “KC” Concepcion is one of the top wide receivers in the 2026 class, and is penciled in as a first-round pick in many mock drafts.
Concepcion starred at Chambers High School in northeast Charlotte before he joined the football team at NC State. He burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2023 with the Wolfpack, when he set freshman records for most catches and receiving touchdowns.
His sophomore season at NC State was not quite as eye-popping, but he was still productive and transferred to Texas A&M for the 2025 season. It was with the Aggies that he began to gain national attention.
With 919 receiving yards and nine touchdown receptions, he led Texas A&M in both categories, on a team that made the College Football Playoff. He added another rushing score, and returned two punts for touchdowns.
At the NFL Combine in February, Concepcion told the media that he is a “playmaker” and talked in length about his versatility.
“I’m versatile,” he said at one point. “I can play inside receiver, outside receiver, running back, punt return, kick return.”
“I always knew I could play any position on the field,” he said later on. “I’m thankful for NC State allowing me to be able to showcase what I can do from the slot.”
As for the motivation behind his move to Texas A&M, Concepcion said he wanted to prove he is a complete receiver.
“I wanted to show everybody that I’m not just a gadget guy,” he said. “I can run routes. I can run the full route tree.”
Standing right around six feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds, Concepcion is far from the biggest wide receiver in this year’s draft. But what he lacks in size he makes up for in playmaking ability.
“As soon as I get the ball in my hands, it’s electric,” he said at February’s combine. “I will never let the first guy take me down … It doesn’t matter if it’s a screen, if it’s a slant, if it’s a fade, any route really.”
NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein used terms such as “elusive,” “immediate burst,” “instinctive” and “a nightmare for man coverage” to describe Concepcion’s game.
One recent mock draft published by ESPN had the Charlotte native going as high as the 21st pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Most mocks have him being taken in either the back half of the first round or the top half of the second round.
Panthers ‘very aware’ of Concepcion
As for if he has thought about joining his hometown Carolina Panthers, who hold the 19th pick, it has apparently crossed his mind.
“I think about it all the time,” he said via Panthers.com. “I would love to go back home. I was raised up there. Bryce Young, you know, he’s an amazing quarterback.”
The Panthers took wide receivers Tetairoa McMillan and Xavier Legette in the first round of the 2025 and 2024 drafts, but Carolina general manager Dan Morgan has not ruled out choosing a first-round receiver three years in a row.
“We’re going to take the best player,” Morgan said in an April 14 press conference. “I wouldn’t hesitate to draft another wideout. I don’t think there’s a rule that says you can’t draft a receiver three years in a row.”
At the combine in February, Morgan said the Panthers were “very aware” of Concepcion. He also had a pre-draft visit with Carolina, as have fellow receivers Omar Cooper Jr., Deion Burks and Denzel Boston.
A Charlotte homecoming is far from a certainty — but it could happen later this week.
The first round of this year’s draft is set for Thursday, April 23, with the second and third rounds scheduled for Friday night. The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds will wrap up the three-day event on Saturday.
Live draft coverage will be available on ESPN, ESPN2 and NFL Network.
Charlotte native Kevin “KC” Concepcion is a possible first-round pick in this week’s NFL draft.(AP photos)
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