Kansas City Chiefs: Chris Conley could be surprise cut this offseason
Drafted in 2015, Chris Conley was seen as a potential third-round steal for the Kansas City Chiefs. But a lack of progress could lead to his release.
The Kansas City Chiefs knew they were picking up a bright-eyed wide receiver out of Georgia when they drafted Chris Conley in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. The pick was even viewed as a latent steal for the Chiefs. But Conley’s slow progress in the NFL could lead to him being a unforeseen release this offseason.
Playing in all 16 games in each of his first two years in the NFL, Conley saw a 27-catch improvement and had 331 more receiving yards during his second season in 2016.
When then-starting Chiefs receiver Jeremy Maclin went down with an injury in a wild-card postseason win over the Houston Texans, Conley helped the Chiefs by capping off the same drive with a touchdown catch to make the score 20-0, eventually winning 30-0.
However, that was Conley’s only major highlight with the team.
In the five games Conley played and started in 2017, he only pulled in 11 receptions for 175 yards. His yard per reception average was higher than before. He was averaging 15.9 yards per reception while having 12.0 the year before and 11.7 his rookie season.
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It was a cataclysmic Achilles injury that ended Conley’s season as he recovered an onside kick attempted by the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football in Week 5.
Conley was highly touted coming out of the NFL Combine in 2015. He placed first among all incoming rookies that year in the vertical jump while placing second in the broad jump and fourth in the 40-yard dash. According to NFL.com’s combine page, Conley’s vertical jump was the best, along with Ohio State’s Donald Washington, since the website started keeping track of combine results in 2006.
But we have yet to see Conley’s athletic abilities translate to success on the gridiron.
Conley’s only major impact, and one that has gone unnoticed, is his ability to help move the chains for the Chiefs. Among his 72 career receptions, 50 of them have been beyond the first-down marker, a 69 percent first down conversion rate. Despite holding a key contribution for Kansas City’s offense, the Chiefs may be able to move on with a different wide receiver.
Coming off single-season career highs in receptions (42), yards (554) and touchdown grabs (3), Albert Wilson served as a viable No. 2 receiver for the Chiefs in 2017 filling in for Conley. Outside of tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill, both who amassed 1,000 receiving yards this past year, Wilson had the next most receiving yards on the Chiefs. Thirty-two of Wilson’s 42 catches turned into first downs, good for a 76 percent rate.
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With quarterback Pat Mahomes set to be the primary quarterback for the Chiefs in 2018, expect his No. 2 receiver opposite of Hill to be Wilson. Not Conley.