Chamarri Conner Enters a Make or Break Season

As Conner enters his fourth NFL season, it's a pivotal year that could control the direction of his career.

Chamarri Conner stepped into a full-time starting role last season after primarily being a nickel defender the year before. He continued to play a large portion of his snaps as a slot corner even though he was a starting deep safety in base personnel.

This position flexibility is something that the Chiefs’ defensive coaching staff typically loves from their secondary players but may have been holding Conner back on the field.

When asked to roll down into the slot, Conner struggled to hold up adequately in coverage frequently. The flexibility to move around the secondary is an awesome card to have in his back pocket, but asking Conner to continuously play a position that he struggled with really impacted his overall play.

Now as we move into 2026, it seems like Conner still has that same starting safety role under his belt, but now the team is angling towards maximizing what he does best. This off-season, they added a slot corner in Free Agency with Kader Kohou, drafted a slot corner in Jadon Canady, and still have Chris Roland-Wallace on the roster who appears to be getting some early cracks at the slot corner position in Training Camp.

These additions and early looks at the Chiefs’ defense in Training Camp point towards Chamarri Conner having a chance to play safety, and only safety, which could be a great benefit for him moving forward.