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The Kansas City Chiefs are undefeated heading into Week 5 of the 2024 campaign, but injuries are beginning to mount. In order to stay on top and keep the three-peat hopes alive, role players are going to have to step up and get the job done, just as defensive back Chamarri Conner has been doing all year.
During a Bleacher Report article on October 4, NFL analyst Kristopher Knox identified one “hidden gem” from each franchise. Conner was his selection for the Chiefs.
“The Kansas City Chiefs parted with a huge defensive piece when they traded cornerback L’Jarius Sneed this offseason,” Knox began. “However, their seventh-ranked scoring defense has remained dependable, thanks to budding role-players like Chamarri Conner.”
“Conner, a 2023 fourth-round pick out of Virginia Tech, appeared in all 21 games as a rookie (including playoffs),” the writer continued. “He played well then and has been even better in an expanded role so far this season.”
According to Knox and Pro Football Reference, Conner’s snap percentage has jumped from 28% in 2023 to 60% in 2024. He’s also “tallied 25 tackles, two passes defended, an interception and a fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown—all while allowing an opposing passer rating of just 76.2 in coverage.”
Even more important, Conner has taken over the key slot corner role in nickel formation, allowing Trent McDuffie to play outside without Sneed.
Knox concluded by describing Conner as “fast, physical and [someone who] seems to have a knack for locating the football.” That makes him “a perfect fit for Steve Spagnuolo’s defense,” per Knox, who predicted that Conner would get more and more snaps as the season progresses.
Chamarri Conner, Leo Chenal & Jaylen Watson Have Been Unsung Heroes of Chiefs’ 2024 Defense
Along with Conner, third-year linebacker Leo Chenal and third-year cornerback Jaylen Watson have been excellent so far. To be clear, so have stars like Chris Jones, McDuffie and George Karlaftis, but this is meant to shine more light upon the unsung heroes of the Kansas City defense.
Chenal doesn’t play every snap as the third linebacker, but he’s currently the Chiefs’ top-graded defender on Pro Football Focus in 2024 over his 125 snaps.
Per PFF, Chenal has been KC’s best run defender this year. The linebacker has only allowed 1.3 yards as his average depth of tackle — which is pretty absurd considering he’s positioned at the second level of the defense. That statistic ranks second behind defensive end Malik Herring (1.0 yards).
He also has a “stop percentage” of 8.5, which ranks fourth for the Chiefs behind Conner (14.3), defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah (10.7) and linebacker Nick Bolton (9.0). Chenal has registered 4 quarterback pressures, 7 key defensive stops, 2 batted passes, a forced fumble and only 3 catches allowed for 11 yards.
As for Watson — like Conner — he’s stepped into a necessary role. The Chiefs were hopeful that two defensive backs would win the nickel and CB2 jobs this summer, and Conner and Watson eventually became those two.
Watson has only allowed 50% of targets for 139 receiving yards, per PFF, yielding an NFL passer rating of 72.7. Conner has allowed 82.4% of targets, but he’s held pass-catchers to just 132 receiving yards, yielding an NFL passer rating of 74.5.
Missed Tackles Are an Area Chamarri Conner & Chiefs Defense Can Improve
There is one area for Conner to clean up early in the 2024 season — missed tackles.
This has been the lone blemish of his game so far, with an exorbitant 7 missed tackles in four weeks. The Chiefs defense has shared in this problem in general, as they’ve already racked up 31 total missed tackles on the year.
Jones addressed this while speaking with the media ahead of Week 5.
“Tackling,” the superstar defensive lineman immediately responded when asked about the areas that the KC defense can get better at. “I think we missed a couple of tackles last week.”
Behind Conner, Bolton has been charged with 5 missed tackles and Watson with 4. Safety Bryan Cook and linebacker Drue Tranquill have also allowed 3 missed tackles.
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