Christian Conley (born October 25, 1992) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

wide receiver for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football for

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He was drafted in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

. He holds the NFL Combine record for the highest

vertical leap A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

of 45 inches.

College career

Conley arrived at Georgia a semester early in January 2011 and played four years under head coach

Mark Richt Mark Allan Richt (born February 18, 1960) is a retired American football head coach, former player, and television analyst. He was the head football coach at the University of Georgia for 15 years and at the University of Miami, his alma mater, ...

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.

College football statistics

Professional career

On January 17, 2015, Conley caught two passes for 45 yards in the

NFLPA Collegiate Bowl The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game for NFL draft-eligible college players, held annually in January. The event was founded in 2012 by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). Players predom ...

in Carson, California and was a part of Mike Martz's National team that defeated the American team 17–0. Conley was one of 47 collegiate wide receivers to attend the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. He had an impressive performance and tied for third among wide receivers in the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...

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"). On March 18, 2015, he attended Georgia's pro day, along with

Todd Gurley Todd Jerome Gurley II (born August 3, 1994) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at Georgia, where he re ...

Amarlo Herrera Amarlo Herrera (born September 20, 1991) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Georgia, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Washi ...

, Damian Swann,

Ramik Wilson Ramik Wilson (born August 19, 1992) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Georgia. Early years Wilson attended Jefferson High School in Tampa, Florida, where he played football and ran track. In football, he p ...

, and 13 other prospects. Team representatives and scouts from 25 NFL teams attended, that included Tennessee Titans' head coach

Ken Whisenhunt Kenneth Moore Whisenhunt (born February 28, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end who is currently an offensive analyst for Penn State. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was drafted in the twelfth round of the 19 ...

, as Conley opted to stand on his combine numbers and only perform positional drills. Throughout the draft process, he met with a few teams for private workouts and meetings, including the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

, and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

. 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.

Kansas City Chiefs (first stint)

The

selected Conley in the third round (76th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. He was the 12th wide receiver selected in 2015.

2015

On May 14, 2015, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Conley to a four-year, $3.12 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

that includes a signing bonus of $712,434. Throughout his first training camp, Conley competed against

De'Anthony Thomas De'Anthony Marquies Thomas (born January 5, 1993) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Dr ...

Jason Avant Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...

, Frankie Hammond, and Albert Wilson for the No. 2 wide receiver role. Conley suffered an injury during training camp after having a strong start in OTA's. Head coach

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...

named Conley the fifth wide receiver on the depth chart, behind

Jeremy Maclin Jeremy Maclin (born May 11, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Missouri, where he was a two-time consensus All-American, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 2009 NF ...

, Albert Wilson, Jason Avant, and De'Anthony Thomas. He made his professional regular season debut in the Kansas City 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 Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 2 ...

before being tackled by Green Bay Packers' safety Haha Clinton-Dix in the fourth quarter of a 38–28 loss. The following week, he earned his first career start after Albert Wilson was unable to play due to a recurring shoulder injury. 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. He finished his rookie season in with 17 receptions for 199 receiving yards and one touchdown in 16 games and five starts. The Kansas City Chiefs finished second in the

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...

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 AFC Wildcard victory over the Houston Texans. The following game, Conley caught five passes for 33 yards as the Kansas City Chiefs lost 27–20 to the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional playoff game.

2016

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 Tyreek or Tyreke is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Tyreek Burwell (born 1992), American football player *Tyreek Duren (born 1991), American basketball player *Tyreke Evans (born 1989), American basketball player * Tyreek Hill ...

. Conley was named the No. 3 wide receiver behind Jeremy Maclin and Albert Wilson to start the regular season. He started the Kansas City 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 Pittsburgh Steelers. In his first season under offensive coordinators Brad Childress and

Matt Nagy Matthew Nagy ( or ; born April 24, 1978) is an American football coach, and former arena football quarterback, who is the senior assistant and quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head ...

, Conley made 44 receptions for 530 receiving yards in 16 games and 11 starts. The Chiefs finished the 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.

2017

Throughout training camp, Conley competed for the No. 1 wide receiver position after

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. He started the Kansas City Chiefs' season-opener at the New England 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

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 Houston Texans on '' Sunday Night Football'' On October 14, 2017, the Kansas City Chiefs officially placed Conley on injured/reserve with a ruptured

achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...

that effectively ended his season. In five games and five starts, Conley caught 11 passes for 175 receiving yards. Chris Conley Chiefs 2018 (cropped)

2018

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

Jacksonville Jaguars

Conley signed with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

on March 16, 2019. 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

. In the game, Conley caught six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown as the Jaguars lost 40–26. 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. In Week 15 against the Oakland Raiders, Conley caught four passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns from

Gardner Minshew Gardner Flint Minshew II (born May 16, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He began his college football career at Northwest Mississippi, winning the NJCAA National Footba ...

late in the fourth quarter of the 20–16 comeback victory. Overall, Conley finished the 2019 season with 47 receptions for 775 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.

Houston Texans

On March 29, 2021, Conley signed a one-year contract with the Houston Texans. On March 23, 2022, Conley re-signed with the Texans. He was released on August 30, 2022, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on October 4, 2022.

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

Conley was signed to

' practice squad on October 6, 2022.

Tennessee Titans

On October 25, 2022, Conley was signed by the

off the Chiefs practice squad. He was waived on November 16, 2022. He was re-signed to the practice squad five days later. He was signed back to the active roster on December 10, 2022.

Personal life

Conley has two siblings and was raised by his parents Christina and Charles Conley. His father had a career in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. Conley was born in Adana, Turkey at

Incirlik Air Base Incirlik Air Base ( tr, İncirlik Hava Üssü) is a Turkish air base of slightly more than 3320 ac (1335 ha), located in the İncirlik quarter of the city of Adana, Turkey. The base is within an urban area of 1.7 million people, east of ...

and spent most of his early life on USAF bases. His mother is a high school teacher. He was raised as a devout Christian and was named Christian at birth. Conley began playing football during his freshman year at North Paulding High School in

Dallas, Georgia Dallas is a city in, and the county seat of, Paulding County, Georgia, United States. The estimated population, as of 2010, was 11,544. Dallas is a northwestern exurb of Atlanta, located approximately from the downtown area. It was named for ...

. He received numerous accolades at North Paulding, including being an All-state chorus member. 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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and was able to meet Television personality and master carpenter Bob Vila. He is a fan of superheroes, citing Superman movies as one of his favorites to watch and

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

as his favorite. Conley is close with former Chiefs' teammate

and is a fan of the TV show '' Game of Thrones'' and the '' Star Wars'' franchise.

Georgia

While at the University of Georgia, Conley wrote, directed, and starred in a Star Wars fan-film ''Retribution''. During his time at Georgia, he served two terms on the Southeastern Conference and the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Student-Athlete Advisory Committees. He graduated from Georgia in December 2014 with a degree in journalism.

References

External links

Georgia Bulldogs bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conley, Chris 1992 births Living people People from Dallas, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football wide receivers Georgia Bulldogs football players Kansas City Chiefs players Jacksonville Jaguars players Houston Texans players Tennessee Titans players