Christian Conley (born October 25, 1992) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

. He was selected in the third round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

and has also played in the NFL for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Early life

Conley was born in

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

, Turkey, at

Incirlik Air Base Incirlik Air Base () is a Republic of Turkey, Turkish air base of slightly more than 3320 ac (1335 ha), located in the İncirlik quarter of the city of Adana, Turkey. The base is within an urban area of 1.7 million people, east of the city ...

and spent most of his early life on USAF bases due to his father being in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. He was raised as a devout Christian and was named Christian at birth. During elementary school, Conley won a regional third grade science fair where he received a $5,000 savings bond, a trip with his family to nationals in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and was able to meet television personality and master carpenter

Bob Vila Robert Joseph Vila (born June 20, 1946) is an American home improvement television show host known for ''This Old House'' (1979–1989), ''Bob Vila's Home Again'' (1990–2005), and ''Bob Vila'' (2005–2007). Early life and education Vila, a C ...

. He began playing football during his freshman year at North Paulding High School in

Dallas, Georgia Dallas is a city in, and the county seat of, Paulding County, Georgia, United States. The estimated population, as of 2020, was 14,042. Dallas is a northwestern exurb of Atlanta, located approximately from the downtown area. It was named for ...

. He received numerous accolades at North Paulding, including being an All-state chorus member.

College

Conley arrived at Georgia a semester early in January 2011 and played four years under head coach

Mark Richt Mark Allan Richt (born February 18, 1960) is an American former college football coach, player, and current television analyst. He was the head football coach at the University of Georgia for 15 years and at the University of Miami, his alma mate ...

before graduating and entering the

. He finished his freshman season with 16 receptions for 288 receiving yards and two

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

receptions in 11 games. In 2012, Conley had 20 receptions for 342 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games. He returned for his junior season in 2013 and caught a career-high 45 passes for 651 receiving yards and was limited to four touchdown receptions in 11 games. His final year at Georgia was in 2014, where he finished with 36 receptions for 657 receiving yards and a career-high eight touchdown receptions.

College statistics

Professional career

Pre-draft

On January 17, 2015, Conley caught two passes for 45 yards in the

NFLPA Collegiate Bowl The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl was a postseason college football all-star game for National Football League Draft-eligible players, held annually in January. The event was founded in 2012 by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). In ...

Carson, California Carson is a city in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and the Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International ...

and was a part of Mike Martz's National team that defeated the American team 17–0. Conley was one of 47 collegiate

wide receivers A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense, WR gets its name from the player being spli ...

to attend the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. He had an impressive performance and tied for third among wide receivers in the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

and finished fourth among them in the bench press. His broad jump was best among his position group with the second closest being Auburn's Sammie Coates (10'9"). On March 18, 2015, he attended Georgia's

pro day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, along with

Todd Gurley Todd Jerome Gurley II (born August 3, 1994) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the Georg ...

, Amarlo Herrera, Damian Swann,

Ramik Wilson Ramik Wilson (born August 19, 1992) is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football at Georgia. Early life Wilson attended Jefferson High School in Tampa, Florida, where he played football and ran track. In ...

, and 13 other prospects. Team representatives and scouts from 25 NFL teams attended, that included

head coach

Ken Whisenhunt Kenneth Moore Whisenhunt (born February 28, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was selected in the twelfth round of the 1985 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, with whom he pla ...

, as Conley opted to stand on his combine numbers and only perform positional drills. Throughout the draft process, he met with a few teams for private workouts and meetings, including the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Conley was projected to be a third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 13th best wide receiver in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com. He holds the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

record for the highest

vertical leap A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

of 45 inches.

Kansas City Chiefs (first stint)

2015

The

selected Conley in the third round (76th overall) of the 2015 NFL draft. He was the 12th wide receiver selected in 2015. On May 14, 2015, the Chiefs signed Conley to a four-year, $3.12 million contract that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $712,434. Throughout his first

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, Conley competed against

De'Anthony Thomas De'Anthony Marquies Thomas (born January 5, 1993) is an American professional football wide receiver and return specialist who is a free agent. He played college football for the Oregon Ducks and was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the four ...

Jason Avant Jason Raye Avant (born April 20, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Michigan and was selected by the Philadelphi ...

Frankie Hammond Frankie Hammond Jr. (born February 17, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators and was signed by the Kansas City ...

, and Albert Wilson for the No. 2 wide receiver role. Conley suffered an injury during training camp after having a strong start in OTA's. Head coach

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously the head coach of the Philadelphi ...

named Conley the fifth wide receiver on the depth chart, behind

Jeremy Maclin Jeremy Maclin (born May 11, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Missouri Tigers, twice earning consensus All-American honors. ...

, Albert Wilson, Jason Avant, and De'Anthony Thomas. He made his professional regular season debut in the Chiefs' season-opening 27–20 victory over the

. On September 28, 2015, Conley caught his first career reception on a 16-yard pass by

Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football for the Utah Utes, earning first-team All-American ho ...

before being tackled by

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

safety Haha Clinton-Dix in the fourth quarter of a 38–28 loss. The following week, he earned his first career start after Albert Wilson was unable to play due to a recurring shoulder injury. Conley finished the 36–21 loss at the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

with two receptions for 53 yards. On October 25, 2015, Conley caught a season-high six passes for 63 receiving yards and a touchdown during the Chiefs' 23–13 win against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. He made his first career touchdown reception on a six-yard pass from Alex Smith in the fourth quarter to seal the Chiefs' victory. He finished his rookie season in with 17 receptions for 199 receiving yards and one touchdown in 16 games and five starts. The Chiefs finished second in the

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...

with an 11–5 record and received a playoff berth as a wildcard team. On January 9, 2016, Conley played in his first career playoff game and caught one pass for a nine-yard touchdown during the Chiefs' 30–0

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

(AFC) Wildcard victory over the Texans. The following game, Conley caught five passes for 33 yards as the Chiefs lost 27–20 to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in the AFC Divisional playoff game.

2016

Conley returned to training camp in 2016 and competed for the job as the No. 2 wide receiver against Albert Wilson, Frankie Hammond, De'Anthony Thomas, Rod Streater, and

Tyreek Hill Tyreek Hill (born March 1, 1994) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Garden City Broncbusters, Oklahoma State Cowboys, and West ...

. Conley was named the No. 3 wide receiver behind Jeremy Maclin and Albert Wilson to start the regular season. He started the Chiefs' season-opener against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

and caught four passes for 43 yards during their 33–27 victory. On October 2, 2016, Conley made a season-high six receptions for 70 receiving yards in the Chiefs' 43–14 loss at the Steelers. In his first season under offensive coordinators

Brad Childress Brad Childress (born June 27, 1956) is a former American football coach. He worked for over 40 years as a coach for various college programs and National Football League (NFL) franchises. He was the offensive coordinator for Wisconsin from 1994 ...

and

Matt Nagy Matthew Nagy ( or ; born April 24, 1978) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head coach of the Chicago ...

, Conley made 44 receptions for 530 receiving yards in 16 games and 11 starts. The Chiefs finished the season atop the AFC West and received a playoff berth before being eliminated by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wildcard game. Conley started the 18–16 loss and was limited to two receptions for 19 yards.

2017

Throughout training camp, Conley competed for the No. 1 wide receiver position after

was released to free up cap space on June 2, 2017. He competed against Tyreek Hill, Albert Wilson, De'Anthony Thomas, and

Demarcus Robinson Demarcus Dontavian Robinson (born September 21, 1994) is an American professional football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators. He was selected by the ...

. Head coach Andy Reid named him the starting wide receiver, alongside Tyreek Hill, to begin the 2017 season. He started the Chiefs' season-opener at the Patriots and made two receptions for 43 yards during their 42–27 victory. The following week, he caught a season-high four passes for 55 yards as the Chiefs defeated the Eagles 27–20. On October 8, 2017, Conley caught three passes for 46 receiving yards before leaving after suffering an achilles injury. The injury occurred when Conley landed after jumping to recover an onside kick in the fourth quarter of their 42–34 victory at the Texans on ''

Sunday Night Football Sunday Night Football may refer to: * ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games by NBC since 2006 * ''ESPN Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games from 1987 to 2005 by ESPN * ...

'' On October 14, 2017, the Chiefs officially placed Conley on injured/reserve with a ruptured

achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

that effectively ended his season. In five games and five starts, Conley caught 11 passes for 175 receiving yards.

2018

In the 2018 season, Conley appeared in all 16 games and recorded 32 receptions for 334 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Conley signed with the

on March 16, 2019. On August 31, 2019, Conley was placed on the final 53-man roster for the Jaguars. Conley made his debut with the Jaguars in Week 1 against his former team, the Chiefs. In the game, Conley caught six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown as the Jaguars lost 40–26. In Week 8 against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, Conley caught four passes for 103 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown, in the 29–15 win. In Week 15 against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

, Conley caught four passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns from

Gardner Minshew Gardner Flint Minshew II (born May 16, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He began his college football career with the Northwest Mississipp ...

late in the fourth quarter of the 20–16 comeback victory. Overall, Conley finished the 2019 season with 47 receptions for 775 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns. In the 2020 season, Conley appeared in 15 games and started four. He had 40 receptions for 471 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Houston Texans

On March 29, 2021, Conley signed a one-year contract with the Texans. He played in 16 games and started ten for the Texans. He recorded 22 receptions for 323 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. On March 23, 2022, Conley re-signed with the Texans. He was released on August 30, 2022, and re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was released on October 4, 2022.

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

Conley was signed to the Chiefs' practice squad on October 6, 2022.

Tennessee Titans

On October 25, 2022, Conley was signed by the Titans off the Chiefs practice squad. He was waived on November 16, 2022. He was re-signed to the practice squad five days later. He was signed back to the active roster on December 10, 2022. In seven games for Tennessee in the 2022 season, Conley caught four of five targets for 46 yards in nine games and one start.

San Francisco 49ers

On April 17, 2023, Conley signed a one-year contract with the

. He was released on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 9. The 49ers reached

Super Bowl LVIII Super Bowl LVIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. A rematch of Super Bowl LIV four years prior, the American Football Conference (AFC) 20 ...

where the 49ers lost 25–22 to Conley’s former team

. In the Super Bowl, Conley had 1 catch for 18 yards and made multiple plays on special teams. On March 16, 2024, Conley re-signed with the 49ers to a one-year contract. Conley announced his retirement on June 7, 2025 after ten seasons.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Conley has two siblings and was raised by his parents Christina and Charles Conley. His mother is a high school teacher and his father was in the Air Force. He is a fan of superheroes, citing

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

movies as one of his favorites to watch and

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

as his favorite. Conley is close with former Chiefs' teammate

and is a fan of the TV show ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'' and the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' franchise. While at the University of Georgia, Conley wrote, directed, and starred in a

fan-film ''Retribution''. During his time at Georgia, he served two terms on the Southeastern Conference and the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Student-Athlete Advisory Committees. He graduated from Georgia in December 2014 with a degree in journalism.

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conley, Chris 1992 births Living people People from Adana Players of American football from Paulding County, Georgia American football wide receivers Georgia Bulldogs football players Kansas City Chiefs players Jacksonville Jaguars players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Tennessee Titans players San Francisco 49ers players