Wikipedia

Chris Conley (American football)

Christian Conley (born October 25, 1992) is an American professional football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Georgia. He was selected in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs and has also played in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, and Tennessee Titans.

Chris Conley
refer to caption
Conley with the Tennessee Titans in 2022
No. 18 – San Francisco 49ers
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1992-10-25) October 25, 1992 (age 32)
Adana, Turkey
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:North Paulding
(Dallas, Georgia)
College:Georgia (2011–2014)
NFL draft:2015 / round: 3 / pick: 76
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2024
Receptions:221
Receiving yards:2,926
Receiving touchdowns:15
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Conley was born in Adana, Turkey at Incirlik Air Base and spent most of his early life on USAF bases due to his father being in the United States Air Force.[1] He was raised as a devout Christian and was named Christian at birth.[2] During elementary school, Conley won a regional third grade science fair where he received a $5,000 savings bond, a trip with his family to nationals in Chicago, Illinois, and was able to meet television personality and master carpenter Bob Vila.[2] He began playing football during his freshman year at North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia. He received numerous accolades at North Paulding, including being an All-state chorus member.[2]

College career

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Conley in 2013.

Conley arrived at Georgia a semester early in January 2011 and played four years under head coach Mark Richt before graduating and entering the 2015 NFL draft. He finished his freshman season with 16 receptions for 288 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions in 11 games. In 2012, Conley had 20 receptions for 342 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games. He returned for his junior season in 2013 and caught a career-high 45 passes for 651 receiving yards and was limited to four touchdown receptions in 11 games. His final year at Georgia was in 2014, where he finished with 36 receptions for 657 receiving yards and a career-high eight touchdown receptions.[3]

College statistics

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Season Team Receiving
Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2011 Georgia 16 288 18.0 47 2
2012 Georgia 20 342 17.1 87 6
2013 Georgia 40 651 14.5 43 4
2014 Georgia 36 657 18.3 48 8
Career 112 1,938 17.3 224 20

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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On January 17, 2015, Conley caught two passes for 45 yards in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson, California and was a part of Mike Martz's National team that defeated the American team 17–0.[4][5] Conley was one of 47 collegiate wide receivers to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He had an impressive performance and tied for third among wide receivers in the 40-yard dash and finished fourth among them in the bench press. His broad jump was best among his position group with the second closest being Auburn's Sammie Coates (10'9").[6] On March 18, 2015, he attended Georgia's pro day, along with Todd Gurley, Amarlo Herrera, Damian Swann, Ramik Wilson, and 13 other prospects. Team representatives and scouts from 25 NFL teams attended, that included Tennessee Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt, as Conley opted to stand on his combine numbers and only perform positional drills.[7] Throughout the draft process, he met with a few teams for private workouts and meetings, including the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Cleveland Browns.[8][9][10] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Conley was projected to be a third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 13th best wide receiver in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[11] He holds the NFL Combine record for the highest vertical leap of 45 inches.[12]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1+7⁄8 in
(1.88 m) 		213 lb
(97 kg) 		33+3⁄4 in
(0.86 m) 		9+7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		 4.35 s 1.52 s 2.54 s 4.30 s 7.06 s 45 in
(1.14 m)		 11 ft 7 in
(3.53 m)		 18 reps
All values from NFL Combine[13][14][15]

Kansas City Chiefs (first stint)

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2015

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The Kansas City Chiefs selected Conley in the third round (76th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft.[16] He was the 12th wide receiver selected in 2015.[17] On May 14, 2015, the Chiefs signed Conley to a four-year, $3.12 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $712,434.[18]

Throughout his first training camp, Conley competed against De'Anthony Thomas, Jason Avant, Frankie Hammond, and Albert Wilson for the No. 2 wide receiver role.[19] Conley suffered an injury during training camp after having a strong start in OTA's. Head coach Andy Reid named Conley the fifth wide receiver on the depth chart, behind Jeremy Maclin, Albert Wilson, Jason Avant, and De'Anthony Thomas.[20][21]

He made his professional regular season debut in the Chiefs' season-opening 27–20 victory over the Houston Texans. On September 28, 2015, Conley caught his first career reception on a 16-yard pass by Alex Smith before being tackled by Green Bay Packers safety Haha Clinton-Dix in the fourth quarter of a 38–28 loss.[22] The following week, he earned his first career start after Albert Wilson was unable to play due to a recurring shoulder injury.[23] Conley finished the 36–21 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals with two receptions for 53 yards. On October 25, 2015, Conley caught a season-high six passes for 63 receiving yards and a touchdown during the Chiefs' 23–13 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He made his first career touchdown reception on a six-yard pass from Alex Smith in the fourth quarter to seal the Chiefs' victory.[24] He finished his rookie season in 2015 with 17 receptions for 199 receiving yards and one touchdown in 16 games and five starts.[25]

The Chiefs finished second in the AFC West with an 11–5 record and received a playoff berth as a wildcard team. On January 9, 2016, Conley played in his first career playoff game and caught one pass for a nine-yard touchdown during the Chiefs' 30–0 American Football Conference (AFC) Wildcard victory over the Texans. The following game, Conley caught five passes for 33 yards as the Chiefs lost 27–20 to the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional playoff game.[26]

2016

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Conley returned to training camp in 2016 and competed for the job as the No. 2 wide receiver against Albert Wilson, Frankie Hammond, De'Anthony Thomas, Rod Streater, and Tyreek Hill.[27] Conley was named the No. 3 wide receiver behind Jeremy Maclin and Albert Wilson to start the regular season.[28]

He started the Chiefs' season-opener against the San Diego Chargers and caught four passes for 43 yards during their 33–27 victory. On October 2, 2016, Conley made a season-high six receptions for 70 receiving yards in the Chiefs' 43–14 loss at the Steelers. In his first season under offensive coordinators Brad Childress and Matt Nagy, Conley made 44 receptions for 530 receiving yards in 16 games and 11 starts. The Chiefs finished the 2016 season atop the AFC West and received a playoff berth before being eliminated by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wildcard game. Conley started the 18–16 loss and was limited to two receptions for 19 yards.[29]

2017

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Throughout training camp, Conley competed for the No. 1 wide receiver position after Jeremy Maclin was released to free up cap space on June 2, 2017. He competed against Tyreek Hill, Albert Wilson, De'Anthony Thomas, and Demarcus Robinson. Head coach Andy Reid named him the starting wide receiver, alongside Tyreek Hill, to begin the 2017 season.[30]

He started the Chiefs' season-opener at the Patriots and made two receptions for 43 yards during their 42–27 victory. The following week, he caught a season-high four passes for 55 yards as the Chiefs defeated the Eagles 27–20. On October 8, 2017, Conley caught three passes for 46 receiving yards before leaving after suffering an achilles injury. The injury occurred when Conley landed after jumping to recover an onside kick in the fourth quarter of their 42–34 victory at the Texans on Sunday Night Football[31] On October 14, 2017, the Chiefs officially placed Conley on injured/reserve with a ruptured achilles that effectively ended his season.[32] In five games and five starts, Conley caught 11 passes for 175 receiving yards.[33]

 
Conley with the Chiefs in 2018

2018

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In the 2018 season, Conley appeared in all 16 games and recorded 32 receptions for 334 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.[34]

Jacksonville Jaguars

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Conley signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on March 16, 2019.[35] On August 31, 2019, Conley was placed on the final 53-man roster for the Jaguars. Conley made his debut with the Jaguars in Week 1 against his former team, the Chiefs. In the game, Conley caught six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown as the Jaguars lost 40–26.[36] In Week 8 against the New York Jets, Conley caught four passes for 103 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown, in the 29–15 win.[37] In Week 15 against the Oakland Raiders, Conley caught four passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns from Gardner Minshew late in the fourth quarter of the 20–16 comeback victory.[38] Overall, Conley finished the 2019 season with 47 receptions for 775 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.[39] In the 2020 season, Conley appeared in 15 games and started four. He had 40 receptions for 471 receiving yards and two touchdowns.[40]

Houston Texans

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On March 29, 2021, Conley signed a one-year contract with the Texans.[41][42] He played in 16 games and started ten for the Texans. He recorded 22 receptions for 323 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.[43]

On March 23, 2022, Conley re-signed with the Texans.[44] He was released on August 30, 2022, and re-signed to the practice squad.[45] He was released on October 4, 2022.[46]

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

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Conley was signed to the Chiefs' practice squad on October 6, 2022.[47]

Tennessee Titans

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On October 25, 2022, Conley was signed by the Titans off the Chiefs practice squad.[48] He was waived on November 16, 2022.[49] He was re-signed to the practice squad five days later.[50] He was signed back to the active roster on December 10, 2022.[51] In seven games for Tennessee in the 2022 season, Conley caught four of five targets for 46 yards in nine games and one start.[52]

San Francisco 49ers

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On April 17, 2023, Conley signed a one-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers.[53] He was released on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad.[54][55] He was promoted to the active roster on December 9.[56] The 49ers reached Super Bowl LVIII where the 49ers lost 25–22 to Conley’s former team Kansas City Chiefs. In the Super Bowl, Conley had 1 catch for 18 yards and made multiple plays on special teams.

On March 16, 2024, Conley re-signed with the 49ers to a one-year contract.[57]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Tgt Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2015 KAN 16 5 31 17 199 11.7 44 1
2016 KAN 16 11 69 44 530 12.0 39 0
2017 KAN 5 5 16 11 175 15.9 35 0
2018 KAN 16 13 52 32 334 10.4 27 5
2019 JAX 16 14 90 47 775 16.5 70 5
2020 JAX 15 4 63 40 471 11.8 51 2
2021 HOU 16 10 37 22 323 14.7 41 2
2022 HOU 2 0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0
TEN 7 1 5 4 46 11.5 27 0
2023 SF 8 0 6 3 69 23.0 48 0
2024 SF 2 0 2 1 4 4.0 4 0
Career 118 63 372 221 2,926 13.2 70 15

Playoffs

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Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Tgt Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2015 KAN 2 0 10 6 42 7.0 16 1
2016 KAN 1 1 3 2 19 9.5 12 0
2018 KAN 2 1 3 0 0 0.0 0 0
2023 SF 3 0 2 2 35 17.5 18 0
Career 8 2 18 10 96 9.6 18 1

Personal life

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Conley has two siblings and was raised by his parents Christina and Charles Conley. His mother is a high school teacher and his father was in the Air Force.[2]

He is a fan of superheroes, citing Superman movies as one of his favorites to watch and DC Comics as his favorite. Conley is close with former Chiefs' teammate Jeremy Maclin and is a fan of the TV show Game of Thrones and the Star Wars franchise.[58][59]

While at the University of Georgia, Conley wrote, directed, and starred in a Star Wars fan-film Retribution.[60] During his time at Georgia, he served two terms on the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committees. He graduated from Georgia in December 2014 with a degree in journalism.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Gregorian, Vahe (December 13, 2016). "Receiver Chris Conley is on the verge of breaking through for Chiefs". KansasCity.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Maisel, Ivan (August 26, 2014). "Chris Conley's direction in life". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "Chris Conley College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  4. ^ Cook, Steven (January 16, 2015). "NFLPA Collegiate Bowl 2015: Rosters, Top Prospects for College All-Star Game". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  5. ^ Brady, James (January 17, 2015). "NFLPA Collegiate Bowl 2015 final score: Marcus Rush impresses as National bests American, 17-0". SBNation.com. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  6. ^ Brady, James (February 22, 2015). "NFL Combine 2015: Full results for wide receivers". sbnation.com. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  7. ^ Brandt, Gil (March 19, 2015). "Georgia's workout wonder Conley builds on NFL draft intrigue". NFL.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  8. ^ Kempsi, Jim (March 30, 2015). "Updating the Eagles' seven reported pre-draft visits so far". PhillyVoice.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  9. ^ "Cleveland Browns have last minute visit with Georgia WR Chris Conley". scout.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  10. ^ "Cowboys Pre-Draft Visit Tracker: All Top Running Backs To Visit Dallas". BloggingtheBoys.com. March 25, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  11. ^ "Chris Conley, DS #13 WR, Georgia". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  12. ^ NFL (March 2, 2017), All-Time Combine Records | NFL, retrieved March 3, 2017
  13. ^ "Chris Conley Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  14. ^ "2015 NFL Draft Scout Chris Conley College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  15. ^ "2015 Combine Workout: Chris Conley". Chiefs.com. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  16. ^ "2015 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  17. ^ "Chris Conley Draft Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  18. ^ "Spotrac.com: Chris Conley contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  19. ^ Knox, Kristopher (May 6, 2015). "Breaking Down Kansas City Chiefs Roster After the 2015 NFL Draft". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018. [permanent dead link‍]
  20. ^ "Take a look at the Chiefs' depth chart for the Texans in Week 1". FoxSports.com. September 8, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  21. ^ "Ourlads.com: Kansa City Chiefs' depth chart: 10/01/2015". Ourlads.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  22. ^ "NFL Game Center: Week 3-2015: Kansas City Chiefs @ Green Bay Packers". NFL.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  23. ^ Warnemuende, Jeremy (October 4, 2015). "Receiver Albert Wilson among inactives for Chiefs vs. Bengals". 247Sports.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.[dead link‍]
  24. ^ "NFL Game Center: Week 7-2015: Pittsb Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs". NFL.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  25. ^ "NFL Player stats: Chris Conley (2015)". NFL.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  26. ^ "NFL Game Center: Week 19-2015: Kansas City Chiefs @ New England Patriots". NFL.com. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  27. ^ Paylor, Terez (March 15, 2016). "Chiefs receiver Rod Streater looking for a return to form". KansasCity.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  28. ^ "Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart". DailyFantasyCafe.com. September 13, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  29. ^ "NFL Player stats: Chris Conley (2016)". NFL.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  30. ^ "Ourlads.com: Kansas City Chiefs' depth chart: 10/01/2017". Ourlads.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  31. ^ Daniels, Tim (October 9, 2017). "Chris Conley Suffers Achilles Injury During Chiefs' Win vs. Texans on SNF". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018. [permanent dead link‍]
  32. ^ Roesch, Wesley (October 14, 2017). "Chiefs place Chris Conley on injured reserve, promote Marcus Kemp". USAToday.com.
  33. ^ "NFL Player stats: Chris Conley (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  34. ^ "Chris Conley 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  35. ^ Oehser, John (March 16, 2019). "WR Chris Conley signs; close ties with Nick Foles". Jaguars.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  36. ^ "Chiefs lose Hill, handle Jags 40-26 behind Mahomes, Watkins". ESPN. Associated Press. September 8, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  37. ^ "Jets' Darnold throws 3 more picks in 29-15 loss at Jaguars". ESPN. Associated Press. October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  38. ^ "Minshew, Jaguars stun Raiders late in Oakland farewell". www.sportsdata.usatoday.com. December 15, 2019. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  39. ^ "Chris Conley 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  40. ^ "Chris Conley 2020 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  41. ^ Davis, Coty (March 22, 2021). "Texans and receiver Chris Conley agree to 1-year contract". Texans Wire. USA Today. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  42. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (3-29-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. March 29, 2021. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  43. ^ "Chris Conley 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  44. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (3-23-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. March 23, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  45. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (8-30-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. August 30, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  46. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (10-4-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. October 4, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  47. ^ "Chris Conley: Returns to Kansas City". CBSSports.com. October 6, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  48. ^ Wyatt, Jim (October 25, 2022). "Titans Sign WR Chris Conley to 53-Man Roster, Place WR Kyle Philips on Injured Reserve". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  49. ^ Wyatt, Jim (November 16, 2022). "Titans Sign Kicker Josh Lambo to 53-Man Roster While Waiving WR Chris Conley". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  50. ^ Wyatt, Jim (November 21, 2022). "Titans Waive K Josh Lambo, Add Two to Practice Squad". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  51. ^ Wyatt, Jim (December 10, 2022). "Titans Make a Flurry of Roster Moves Ahead of Sunday's Game vs the Jaguars". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  52. ^ "Chris Conley 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  53. ^ "49ers Sign Wide Receiver to One-Year Contract; Announce Two Other Roster Moves". 49ers.com. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  54. ^ "49ers Announce Moves for Initial 53-Man Roster". 49ers.com. August 29, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  55. ^ "49ers Announce Practice Squad Moves". 49ers.com. August 30, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  56. ^ "49ers Place McCloud III on Injured Reserve, Promote a WR to the Active Roster and More Moves Ahead of #SEAvsSF". 49ers.com. December 9, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  57. ^ "49ers Re-Sign Wide Receiver to a One-Year Deal". 49ers.com. March 16, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  58. ^ Martin, Kelana (February 4, 2017). "10 Things to Know about Chiefs WR Chris Conley". Chiefs.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  59. ^ Klemko, Robert (December 22, 2015). "The Force Is with Chiefs Wideout Chris Conley". si.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  60. ^ "Retribution (2014) - Star Wars Fan Film". YouTube. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
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