Despite being just a rookie wide receiver in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, Denzel Boston has quickly become the centerpiece of the Cleveland Browns offense. After excelling throughout the spring and training camp, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that he caught a long touchdown pass in his debut.
Boston continued to make big plays, leading the league in yards per reception. But with that kind of production comes more attention, and the defense decided Boston wasn’t going to let them do that.
So the rest of the Browns offense was forced to catch up to them. KC Concepcion and Harold Fannin Jr. scored in last Sunday’s 27-24 win against the Tennessee Titans, which could be enough to swing the pendulum back to Boston.
ESPN analyst Seth Walder predicts Boston will have a big game this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers after three less productive outings.
“Browns WR Denzel Boston will record 80-plus receiving yards. It’s been a down few weeks for Boston, but I believe and I’m bouncing back. Steelers CB Jamel Dean allows 1.5 yards per coverage snap, well above average for an outside cornerback,” Walder wrote.
Perhaps bothered by a lingering foot injury, Boston has posted just seven receptions for 88 yards in its last three games. That was after 13 catches for 284 yards in his first four games.
That early breakout, including seven catches for 89 yards in Week 4, helped lead Cleveland to a 27-24 victory over Pittsburgh. In that game, Dean played just 16 defensive snaps, recording one tackle and one pass defensed. He injured his ankle in the second quarter and did not return.
Dean sat out the following two games, and he bounced back with six passes defensed and an interception in Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last week, he posted a season-high seven games against the New Orleans Saints in Paris.
So Boston could face a tougher challenge than it did in the first meeting, and Cleveland will have to rise to the challenge if it’s going to win a regular-season game in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2003.
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2 reasons why the Browns can beat the Steelers on Sunday