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The Kansas City Chiefs' rookie class has produced mixed results thus far in the 2023 season. As the schedule reaches its late stages, though, a few first-year players are beginning to make their presence felt on the field.
Fourth-round pick Chamarri Conner is one of those players, coming off the best game of his career in Week 14.
With safety Bryan Cook on injured reserve with an ankle injury and Justin Reid getting banged up a couple of times during last Sunday's game, the rookie was relied on to play more snaps than he had all season long. In fact, it wasn't even close. After logging snap totals of 11, 17, 11 and 12 on defense in Weeks 9-13, the Virginia Tech product played a staggering 41 against the Buffalo Bills. That, combined with 21 special teams snaps, served as a hefty workload for the newcomer. He made the most of his reps, too.
In addition to recording three tackles, Conner had a pass broken up and notched his first career interception. The latter was an exciting, out-of-nowhere play in which Conner showcased tremendous instincts and anticipation. It came at a critical point in the game as well, leading to a scoring drive to put Kansas City within a touchdown by the end of the first half. This week, Conner spoke to Aaron Ladd of KSHB 41 and described the play.
The rookie Chamarri Conner gets his first career INT
— NFL (@NFL) December 10, 2023
: #BUFvsKC on CBS
: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/pWMED8SAQa pic.twitter.com/0hxIWA8MR6
"Man coverage," Conner said. "Somebody had picked up my route, so I came off late and tried to just mirror the quarterback and find the ball. I'd seen he was rolling out to the right, so I just took off to try to go make a play."
According to defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, that rep didn't start on the best of footing but Conner eventually did what he needed to do.
“He was in man and one of the other defenders cut his man and he came off it, he was supposed to play with eyes, which he did, he found an available hole," Spagnuolo said. "I don’t think Josh Allen saw him because he was coming from the back side. It was a really good play. It was where he was supposed to be eventually. At first, it looked a little shaky but then he got there.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Conner's Week 14 performance was his second-highest-graded one of the season. He also posted top-two individual game marks for tackling and coverage in the process. Through 13 games, he's surrendered just a 61.5 average passer rating when targeted. He's growing up before the Chiefs' very eyes late in the season, which comes just in time for the playoffs.
Kansas City is well aware that Conner is coming on strong. Just a week ago, special teams coordinator Dave Toub spoke about how he "keeps getting better and better" and may not be a pure special-teamer for much longer. With veteran Mike Edwards dealing with an illness this week and Cook obviously still on IR, the Chiefs will still find ways to get their rookie on the field. More production is undoubtedly in the cards moving forward, but Conner says the intensity and atmosphere of getting that first career interception was everything he wanted and more.
"Yeah, it definitely matched," Conner said. "It was a crazy moment. It was hard to keep composure, but it was a great moment. I was just happy to make a play for the team [and] happy to make a play to get the game turned around. It was definitely a great moment."
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