Kansas City Chiefs trade up, select Chamarri Conner in 4th round of 2023 NFL Draft

Chamarri Conner made his presence known on the Virginia Tech defense over the last five years. He’ll try to have that same effect at the next level.

The Kansas City Chiefs traded up to selected Conner in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He spent five seasons with the Hokies as he became a key part of the defense.

In 2022, Conner totaled 67 tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss as he started all 11 games as a fifth-year senior. That came after totaling a career-high 85 tackles to go with 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks in 2021. Conner’s biggest year came in 2019 when he had 68 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and an interception as a sophomore.

All told, during his time in Blacksburg, Conner finished with 314 tackles, 21.0 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and three interceptions. One of his biggest games came in 2022 when he had 11 tackles as Virginia Tech fell to West Virginia in September.

At the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis in March, Conner put on a display in the 40-yard dash when he ran a 4.52 in the event. That put him tied for seventh among the safeties who took part. He also had a 1.56 10-yard split, a 40.5-inch vertical jump and a 10’5″ broad jump.

Prior to his time at Virginia Tech, Conner played high school football at Trinity Christian Academy (Fla.), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 320 overall recruit in the 2018 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Chamarri Conner

Considering Conner’s performance at the combine and his 6-foot, 202-pound frame, he could find himself as a potential piece on an NFL roster. However, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein argued he might not be guaranteed a spot because of his struggles making key tackles, especially open-field tackles.

Still, he might be able to work his way into a backup role.

“Conner’s size and versatility could buy him time on a roster, but he might need to keep fighting for his spot,” Zierlein wrote. “He misses too many tackles due to risky angles and struggles coming to balance in the open field. The speed and pattern matching aren’t great, but the ball skills are above average. Conner has late Day 3 value as a potential backup.”