Kansas City Chiefs trade up in Round 4 of 2023 NFL Draft and select a Virginia Tech DB
For a third straight pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs made a trade, this time with the Minnesota Vikings, to move up in Saturday’s fourth round.
The Chiefs then selected former Virginia Tech defensive back Chamarri Conner 119th overall.
The Chiefs shipped pick 134 (fourth round) and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft pick to the Vikings.
The 6-foot, 205-pound Conner played five season for the Hokies, totaling 314 tackles, 7.5 sacks, four interceptions and 23 passes defensed. He has the versatility to play both cornerback and safety.
The Chiefs see Conner providing depth at both safety spots on the back end of coverage.
“He will play any position that you need on the back end,” Chiefs area scout Anthony McGee said. “He brings size, speed, burst, everything. I just love the way he plays.”
The Chiefs are loaded in the defensive backs room, so Conner won’t be expected to start. But the team anticipates contributions from him on special teams.
“He’s going to be probably a really good special teams player,” McGee said. “I feel like he’ll come in and he’ll want to be a four-phase right off the bat. He seems like the type to be gritty and just want to play, get on the field.”
The role is right up Conner’s alley.
“I take so much pride in special teams,” he said. “Special teams is how I earned my name at Virginia Tech. … Even outside of my freshman year, that was always part of my career to be on those teams and fly down, make those plays on special teams. That was always a big part of Virginia Tech, so I’m definitely going to carry that with me.”
The selection of Conner gives the Chiefs their second player on defense in the 2023 NFL Draft. The team previously selected:
- DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State (Rd. 1, 31st overall)
- WR Rashee Rice, Southern Methodist (Rd. 2, 55th overall)
- T Wanya Morris, Oklahoma (Rd. 3, 92nd overall)
This story was originally published April 29, 2023 at 12:09 PM.
