Grading the Chiefs’ pick of Virginia Tech safety Chamarri Conner

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a selection in Round 4!

With the 119th overall pick in the fourth round, the Chiefs took Virginia Tech safety Chamarri Conner. We have insta-grades from three members of the Arrowhead Pride Draft Team.

Ron: I was surprised to see the Chiefs address this role early on Day 3, trading up to secure Conner. The Chiefs’ safety room has four legitimate players, while the team’s group of cornerbacks has multiple players that can play in the slot.

It sounds like he’s going to be a major contributor on special teams, but I don’t think it’s late enough in the draft to use that as positive justification. He fits the mold of a disruptive defensive back that can do a little of everything for the Chiefs, so I don’t hate the style of player.

I’m just not a huge fan of the positional value here, with worthwhile defensive linemen and skill-position prospects on the board. Instead of addressing positions that could make a legitimate contribution on offense or defense right away, they went with a player who may only make his mark on special teams to start his career. His athletic testing makes me feel better about the pick than I was initially.

Grade: C-

Caleb: Death, taxes, and Brett Veach taking swings on day three defensive backs. Conner has a tremendous athletic upside and will provide versatility to the Chiefs. Aligning mostly as a safety during his career at Virginia Tech, he was a physical player and a high-volume tackler.

He has a chance to develop into a guy who can play the slot corner position as well as be a box safety. He will also be a player who they can use in a variety of blitz packages. Early on in his career in a deep secondary unit, I would expect him to mostly be a four-phase special teams type, but he will have a chance to develop into a good role player. Physicality is the name.

Trading up for the pick was a little head-scratching, but in regards to defensive backs we should more than likely give Veach the benefit of the doubt.

Grade: C

Rocky: Seeing how Chiefs fans showed up in force for Day 3 of the NFL Draft, general manager Brett Veach must have felt bad about making them wait too long to make a pick— in principle, I agree with the sentiment, but in practice, this isn’t a pick that I love. While Conner has good size, strength, and unreal jumping ability for the position, he is on the slower side for a defensive back. Conner has spent the majority of his college career playing in the slot or lining up as a box defender. It wasn’t until 2022 that he started playing on the back end of the defense.

While I am one to usually defend trading up to get your guy, this feels like a little bit of a reach to me— that being said, Veach and company have earned my trust and if they are good with this pick then so am I.

Grade: C