Why playing his way off Chiefs’ special teams is good thing for safety Chamarri Conner
Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub is squeezing every snap that he can from Chamarri Conner now, because he figures it won’t be long before he loses him.
Just a rookie, Conner has been one of the better players on the Chiefs’ special teams.
“I’m enjoying the fact that I have him right now,” Toub said Thursday, “and I know eventually he’s going to end up ... getting more and more reps on defense.”
The future has come quickly for Conner. An injury to Bryan Cook meant Conner got his most defensive snaps as a pro in last weekend’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.
He also snared his first NFL interception, picking off Josh Allen in the second quarter. That was a huge moment for the Chiefs — and the fourth-round pick from Virginia Tech.
“It was a real big moment for me, an amazing moment,” Conner said. “But I had to stay composed and move on to the next series.”
The interception served as tonic for the Chiefs, who trailed 14-0 at the time. Conner’s takeaway shifted momentum to the Chiefs, who drove for their first touchdown and sliced the deficit in half. They would eventually even the game before falling 20-17.
Conner played 53% of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps and was credited with three tackles. One of the secondary’s most versatile players, Conner logged snaps a free and strong safety as well as slot cornerback against the Bills.
Versatility was his calling card in college. Conner played mostly free safety last season, but in previous seasons he recorded the majority of his snaps at slot corner.
On last Sunday’s pick, Conner started on the left side, moved right, then reversed course when Allen went to his right. Allen, under pressure, never saw Conner coming.
“I saw (Allen) rolling out to his right and extend the play,” Conner said. “I just tried to get in the path, in the passing lane.”
Tracking the ball as soon as it left Allen’s hand, Conner said he had one thought in his mind at the time:
Don’t drop it, don’t drop it, don’t drop it.
Conner’s increased playing time, along with that of Mike Edwards, will continue with Cook on injured reserve. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said Conner is ready.
“Chamarri Conner is coming on,” Spagnuolo said.
Toub hopes he can retain the services of Conner, whose 250 special teams snaps (79.1% of the team’s overall total) are second on the Chiefs only to Joshua Williams’ 252.
“I hope I get him for the rest of the season,” Toub said. “He got 62 snaps (defense and special teams combined) last week, and if that continues I’m going to have to pull him back.”