Kansas City Chiefs: Chris Conley Should Be Starter In 2016
By Charles Lam
The Kansas City Chiefs are looking for a number two wide receiver to arise to complement Jeremy Maclin heading into the 2016 season. Second year player, Chris Conley, could be that guy.
The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Chris Conley in the third round of the 2015 draft, 76th overall. He put up good numbers in college for the Georgia Bulldogs. He played four years for the SEC team, accumulating 117 receptions for 1938 yards and 20 touchdowns during his four year college career.
Conley had some playing time during his rookie season. He started five games and appeared in 16 games for the Chiefs. He hauled in 17 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown for Kansas City.
Conley is 6′-2″ tall and 200 pounds. His size and strength make him a tough match up for most corners, especially in the end zone. That’s the kind of player the Chiefs need to make this team formidable on offense.
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This season, Conley must fight for the starting job. There’s a lot of guys that want that spot. Veterans such as Jason Avant, newly acquired Mike Williams and former Raider Rod Streater won’t be easy to beat. Conley also needs to beat out younger guys like third year wide receiver, Albert Wilson and rookies, Tyreek Hill and Demarcus Robinson.
Rod Streater could give Conley the most trouble. Streater played for the Oakland Raiders for parts of four seasons. Streater’s most impressive season came in 2013. He caught 60 passes for 888 yards and four touchdowns that year. He also added two rushing attempts for 17 yards.
Since then, he’s got sporadic playing time. He’s accumulated 10 receptions for 92 yards and one touchdown the last two seasons combined for the Raiders.
Streater fits the outside wide receiver position well. He’s the prototypical size for an outside receiver at 6′-3″ tall and big enough to fight off defenders at 200 pounds. The size and weight of Streater and his experience in the league will be tough for most receivers on the Chiefs staff to beat him.
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With a new team and an opportunity to start, the 28-year-old may have new life. If he plays hard in training camp and impresses Andy Reid and his staff, Streater could be a threat to take a starting job.
The good news for Conley is he knows Andy Reid’s system better than most of the other wide receivers on the team. Robinson, Hill, Williams and Streater will have to learn the play book for the first time. Wilson and Avant know the playbook but there are a few downsides with them.
Wilson is listed at 5′-9″ tall. His body type and skill set seem to fit better as a slot receiver than an outside sideline receiver. Wilson has looked impressive as a Chief. He’s hauled in 51 passes for 711 yards and two touchdowns for the Kansas City Chiefs. His height makes it difficult to grab touchdowns in the end zone. Wilson is more a speed receiver that beats a linebacker to the ball and out runs him for a touchdown.
Avant is 33-years-old and isn’t that fast, limiting his opportunity to run past younger and quicker cornerbacks. He made some highlight reel catches during last years playoff run but I don’t see him taking the number two spot from Conley.
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If Chris Conley comes to training camp this year and plays to his talents ability, he should be the starting number two receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs at the start of the season.