After being a four-year starter at Virginia Tech, veteran defensive back Chamarri Conner is heading to the NFL and joining the defending Super Bowl champions.
Conner was selected 119th overall in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Conner’s selection to Kansas City was announced by famous actor and Chiefs fan Eric Stonestreet.
He is the highest-selected Hokie since the 2021 NFL Draft where Christian Darrisaw and Caleb Farley went in the first round, and Divine Deablo was selected in the third round. This means that Virginia Tech has now had at least one player selected in 29 of the past 30 NFL Drafts. Conner is now the 20th highest picked Virginia Tech defensive back in program history.
Over the course of his five seasons in Blacksburg, Conner played in 61 games having 314 tackles including 21 for loss with 7.5 sacks plus 4 interceptions, 19 pass breakups, 4 forced fumbles, and 1 blocked kick. Conner earned All-ACC Honorable Mention honors during the 2020 and 2021 seasons while also earning an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl this past year. Additionally, Conner’s 314 tackles ranks 9th all-time in Virginia Tech football history including the most for a defensive back though he featured a lot in the box in the nickelback role he played for much of his VT career.
Conner is an intriguing NFL prospect who should be able to come in and provide quality depth at safety as a very good run defender who is also good in man coverage against tight ends and jumbo wide receivers. There will definitely be some opportunity for Conner to compete for a starting job early though the Chiefs were busy at safety in free agency this past offseason.
He has the potential to be a very good special teams player having been a valuable piece of coverage units for the Hokies. He can also be an asset in the locker room for the Chiefs as a hard worker who was a multi-year captain for the Hokies. That type of value in the locker room and on special teams is how you can extend your career if you don’t end up developing into a regular starting safety.
