X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

Chris Conley (WR, KC) - 2017 Fantasy Football Sleeper

As you are nearing the back-end of your draft, it becomes time to take fliers on players with uncertainty surrounding how productive they will be. Properly using your late round picks involves accepting the fact that even though the player you are selecting could develop into a serviceable fill-in or even a starter, it is just as likely that he will develop into an incredible disappointment. However, ensuring that no draft pick is wasted by making smart, high upside choices can mean hitting a home-run on a player you didn’t expect much from at best and dropping a pick that means very little at worst.

To use an example, I hark back to the 2014 NFL season when the Mr. Irrelevant in my hometown fantasy league was Kansas City Chiefs’ rookie tight end Travis Kelce. Kelce had shown off his ability as a receiver early in the preseason, though it was incredibly doubtful as to whether he would actually play on day one. Kelce went on to haul in 67 receptions for 862 yards and 5 touchdowns, finishing as TE-9 in standard and TE-8 in PPR scoring.

Now I find myself advocating for another Kansas City Chiefs’ player, this time a wide receiver who currently sits as an undrafted player in most mock drafts according to Fantasy Football Calculator. The release of Jeremy Maclin signals a great opportunity for one of his successors, third year wide-out Chris Conley, to grow into a useful fantasy asset sooner rather than later.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:

 

Who Exactly is Chris Conley?

Coming out after four productive seasons for Georgia, Chris Conley entered the 2015 NFL draft possessing an extremely enticing skillset: a 6’3", 205 pound frame with 4.35 second 40 yard dash speed. Having just let under-performing wide-out Dwayne Bowe take his talents to Cleveland, the Kansas City Chiefs were hoping to fill the void with a player who was a much better athlete than Bowe and had plenty of room to be molded by coach Andy Reid. However, since being selected by the Chiefs in the third round, Conley has had a tough time living up to the hype over his first two NFL seasons.

Year

Receptions Yards Touchdowns

2015

17 199 1
2016 44 530

0

2017* 61* 729*

1*

*Projections from chiefswire.usatoday.com

Despite fairly pedestrian numbers, Conley saw an uptick in both his snap count and usage in his sophomore season and improved his receiving efficiency on the targets he got, increasing his 6.42 yards per target in his rookie season to 7.68. Seeing noticeable improvement from Conley is an indicator that he is becoming more comfortable with winning wide receiver/cornerback match-ups at the next level and a promising sign for his fantasy prospects in 2017.

Why Chris Conley Could Succeed and Why He Could Fail

Conley is physical and speedy enough to catch the ball and do more with his targets. Despite being touted as a speedster coming out of college, Conley`s deadliest weapon might be how much of a bully he can be off of the line of scrimmage. Against physical cornerbacks like Aqib Talib and Jalen Ramsey, Conley was able to find success in shoving back against the jam and give room for his routes to develop. What's more, when he was targeted, Conley displayed strong hands and the ability to win contested catches on the jump ball. With Conley lining up in the X receiver role opposite of Tyreek Hill, he will get plenty of opportunity to out-muscle cornerbacks with brute force and use his underrated speed to pick up extra yardage.

Conley will definitely get a greater piece of the target share, but he faces stiff competition. Quarterback Alex Smith is not well known for attempting the deep ball or being particularly accurate when he does, so expecting presumed first string wide receiver Tyreek Hill to be a target-hogging, 5’8 fantasy WR-1 is laughable. Until rookie quarterback Patrick Mahomes (who had one of the strongest arms of the 2016 quarterback draft class) is under center, Hill`s ceiling will not reach its highest potential.

What does that mean for Chris Conley? Of Jeremy Maclin`s 73 targets that are left in the wake of his release, 28% were on short throws and 50% were on mid-range throws according to footballoutsiders.com. Funnily enough, Conley was targeted 23% of the time on short throws and 45% on mid-range throws, suggesting that he has a good chance of getting a significant portion of the 73 leftover targets. I won't pretend like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce can’t compete for an increased target share themselves, but Conley could be a surprising beneficiary of more targets in a possession receiver role.

Of course, the overarching problem with Conley’s situation is that the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t exactly a prosperous offense for getting fantasy production out of wide receivers. In 2016, the Chiefs only averaged 233 passing yards per game and were 19th in the NFL in passing play percentage. They also face one of the hardest schedules for wide-outs with marquee games against Denver, Houston, and New England, all of which were top 12 defenses against the pass last season. That being said, the Chiefs still managed to rank 13th in the league in points per game at 23.8, meaning a third year breakout for Conley isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Is Chris Conley REALLY Worth A Late Round Flier?

It’s essential to remember that I’m not advocating for Chris Conley as a gem who will produce the same way Travis Kelce did in his rookie season and become a fixture in your starting lineup this fantasy season. In fact, this ‘fantasy sleeper’ lies in the much more volatile areas of sleeper rankings largely because of how high his ceiling and how low his floor could be. On one hand, Conley is a player with upside that reaches into the low-end WR2 territory in PPR formats and a floor that replicates his 2016 form when he finished as WR87.

I, for one, will be taking a shot with Chris Conley as a late-round flier who can round out my bench and is primed to explode onto the scene in his third NFL season. Although his ADP could improve to actually being drafted, it is incredibly likely that you’ll still be able to get him at an immense discount even if he has a solid preseason showing. Conley has both found his identity as a wide receiver and seen higher usage over the course of his first two years with the Chiefs, putting him in a situation that will finally allow him to be fantasy-relevant for 2017.

 

More Sleepers & Draft Values


Check out RotoBaller's famous fantasy football draft sleepers and waiver wire pickups list, updated regularly!




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Kevin Huerter19 mins ago

Out Versus Toronto
Stephen Curry47 mins ago

Spotted At Shootaround
Lauri Markkanen59 mins ago

Out Again On Saturday
Puka Nacua1 hour ago

Expected To Play
JuJu Smith-Schuster1 hour ago

Juju Smith-Schuster Ruled Out For Week 9
Bryce Young1 hour ago

Panthers Not Considering Moving Bryce Young
Cooper Kupp2 hours ago

Rams Not Expected To Move Cooper Kupp
Davante Adams2 hours ago

Jets Not Expected To Move Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams
Drake Maye2 hours ago

Clears Concussion Protocol, Will Play In Week 9
Robbie Ray2 hours ago

Doesn't Opt Out Of Contract, Stays With Giants
Tee Higgins2 hours ago

Bengals Not Looking To Trade Tee Higgins
2 hours ago

Yankees Could Make Play For Pete Alonso This Offseason
Jaylen Brown2 hours ago

Won't Play On Saturday Night
Sean Manaea2 hours ago

Opts Out Of Contract, Becomes Free Agent
Cody Bellinger3 hours ago

Picks Up $27.5 Million Player Option With Cubs
Gerrit Cole3 hours ago

Opts Out Of Contract With Yankees
Rhys Hoskins5 hours ago

Staying In Milwaukee
6 hours ago

Seattle Declines Club Option On Jorge Polanco
Luke Weaver6 hours ago

Returning To New York
Josh Downs6 hours ago

Cleared To Play In Week 9
Eugenio Suárez6 hours ago

Arizona Picks Up Club Option On Eugenio Suarez
Michael Pittman Jr.6 hours ago

Will Play In Week 9
DK Metcalf6 hours ago

Has Strong Chance To Return In Week 11
Nikolaj Ehlers8 hours ago

Totals Four Points Versus Blue Jackets
Igor Shesterkin8 hours ago

Stops 40 Shots Versus Senators
Aleksander Barkov8 hours ago

Amasses Four Points In Finland
Dan Vladar8 hours ago

Shuts Out Devils Friday Night
Adam Pelech8 hours ago

Makes Early Exit Versus Sabres
Mike Reilly8 hours ago

Exits Friday's Action With Injury
NHL8 hours ago

Nathan Bastian Suffers Jaw Injury On Friday
Jordan Clarkson16 hours ago

Out At Least A Week
Kyle Kuzma16 hours ago

Out Again On Saturday
Jamal Murray16 hours ago

Won't Return On Friday Night
Giannis Antetokounmpo16 hours ago

Anticipated To Play Versus Cleveland
Puka Nacua17 hours ago

Has A Shot To Play In Week 9
Jordan Love18 hours ago

Tracking To Play In Week 9
Stephen Curry20 hours ago

Unavailable Saturday
Yves Missi21 hours ago

Expected To Take The Court Friday
Karl-Anthony Towns21 hours ago

Available On Friday
Eric Comrie21 hours ago

Faces Blue Jackets Friday
Daniel Theis21 hours ago

Likely To Suit Up Friday
David Savard21 hours ago

Sits Out Practice For Maintenance Purposes
De'Anthony Melton21 hours ago

Unavailable Saturday
Jordan Hawkins21 hours ago

Expected To Play Friday
Alexander Romanov21 hours ago

Ready To Play Friday
Al Horford21 hours ago

Resting Against Charlotte
Evgeni Malkin21 hours ago

Takes Maintenance Day On Friday
Andrew Wiggins21 hours ago

Probable For Saturday's Matchup With Houston
Rose Namajunas21 hours ago

An Underdog At UFC Edmonton
D'Angelo Russell21 hours ago

Will Suit Up Versus Toronto
Devon Levi21 hours ago

Returns To Sabres Crease
Clayton Kershaw21 hours ago

To Undergo Two Surgeries
Anthony Davis21 hours ago

Available Against Toronto
Erin Blanchfield21 hours ago

Returns At UFC Edmonton
Brandon Lowe21 hours ago

Rays Pick Up Club Option On Brandon Lowe
Ryan Hartman21 hours ago

Rejoins Wild Lineup Friday
Zach LaVine21 hours ago

Will Play Against Brooklyn
21 hours ago

Nick Martinez Headed To Free Agency
Erik Cernak21 hours ago

Available On Friday
Marc-Andre Barriault21 hours ago

Dustin Stoltzfus Set To Face Marc-Andre Barriault At UFC Edmonton
Brent Suter21 hours ago

Inks Extension With Cincinnati
Immanuel Quickley21 hours ago

Out Again On Friday Night
CJ McCollum22 hours ago

Out At Least Two Weeks
22 hours ago

Yankees, Mets Among Teams In Battle For Juan Soto
Marc-Andre Barriault22 hours ago

A Favorite At UFC Edmonton
Blake Snell22 hours ago

Opts Out Of Deal With San Francisco
Josh Jacobs22 hours ago

Questionable For Sunday
Drake Maye23 hours ago

Questionable For Week 9
Tyler Boyd23 hours ago

Tony Pollard, Tyler Boyd Listed As Questionable
Tyjae Spears23 hours ago

Ruled Out For Week 9
Calvin Ridley23 hours ago

Off The Injury Report
Trevin Giles23 hours ago

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Noah Fant23 hours ago

Ruled Out For Week 9
Brian Robinson Jr.23 hours ago

Questionable For Week 9
Mike Malott23 hours ago

Opens Up UFC Edmonton Main Card
Dallas Goedert23 hours ago

Ruled Out For Week 9
DK Metcalf23 hours ago

Ruled Out For Week 9
Zach Benson24 hours ago

Could Play Next Week
Jani Hakanpaa24 hours ago

And Connor Dewar Sent On Conditioning Stint
Dmitri Voronkov24 hours ago

Ready For Season Debut Friday
Mathew Barzal24 hours ago

Getting Tests Done For Upper-Body Injury
Vladimir Tarasenko1 day ago

Ready To Go For Saturday
Mark Stone1 day ago

Misses Practice Due To Birth Of Child
Tomás Nosek1 day ago

Tomas Nosek Ready For Panthers Debut On Friday
1 day ago

Royals Decline Option On Adam Frazier
1 day ago

Manuel Margot, Kyle Farmer Headed To Free Agency
1 day ago

Milwaukee Declines Option On Wade Miley
Lucas Giolito1 day ago

Staying In Boston
Chris Stratton1 day ago

Hunter Renfroe, Chris Stratton Returning To Kansas City
Jordan Montgomery1 day ago

Staying In Arizona
Brendson Ribeiro2 days ago

Searching For 1st UFC Win At UFC Edmonton
Caio Machado2 days ago

Drops Down To Light Heavyweight At UFC Edmonton
Jhonata Diniz2 days ago

Gets Big Step-Up At UFC Edmonton
Derrick Lewis2 days ago

Faces An Unranked Heavyweight At UFC Edmonton
Amir Albazi2 days ago

An Underdog At UFC Edmonton
Brandon Moreno2 days ago

Ends Layoff At UFC Edmonton
Chase Elliott5 days ago

Comes Up Short at Homestead
William Byron5 days ago

Rallies to Sixth at Homestead
Kyle Larson5 days ago

Tire Issue at Homestead Could Doom Kyle Larson's Championship Hopes
Tyler Reddick5 days ago

Charges To A Thrilling Victory At Homestead
Ryan Blaney5 days ago

Loses At Homestead On The Final Corner To Tyler Reddick
Christopher Bell5 days ago

Quietly Nabs A Top-5 Finish At Homestead
Khamzat Chimaev5 days ago

Remains Undefeated
Robert Whittaker5 days ago

Gets Submitted At UFC 308
Aleksandar Rakic5 days ago

Drops Decision At UFC 308
Armen Petrosyan5 days ago

Knocked Out At UFC 308
Shara Magomedov5 days ago

Gets Highlight-Reel Knockout Win At UFC 308
Joey Logano5 days ago

Intentionally Sleepwalked Through Homestead to Focus on Phoenix
Denny Hamlin5 days ago

Advances to Championship 4 as Owner but Not as Driver
Dan Ige6 days ago

Loses Second-Straight Fight At UFC 308
Lerone Murphy6 days ago

Remains Undefeated At UFC 308
Magomed Ankalaev6 days ago

Wins Lackluster Decision Win At UFC 308
Max Holloway6 days ago

Gets Knocked Out For First Time At UFC 308

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Keon Coleman - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Key Starters and Tough Calls - Week 9 Lineup Spotlights for Fantasy Football Include Ladd McConkey, Keon Coleman, Joe Flacco

Scott Engel’s Lineup Spotlights are an essential weekly feature on RotoBaller.com for the 2024 fantasy football season. Every week, he focuses on players to choose as starting options when you are dealing with tight lineup decisions. The lineup picks included in this rundown are based on Scott’s Premium Weekly Lineup Rankings, available as part of the RotoBaller […]


Ladd McConkey - Fantasy Football Rankings, Rookies, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Wide Receiver Matchups to Target in Week 9 - Terry McLaurin, Chris Olave, Ladd McConkey, Jakobi Meyers

Welcome to WR Matchups to Target for Week 9. Last week’s picks yielded one “in the money” pick (3x multiplier on DraftKings salary) in Keon Coleman, giving us 11 such picks over the first eight weeks of the season. Each week, we will use matchup data from PFF to determine which wide receivers to target […]


Brian Thomas Jr - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Who Should I Start? Sunday Fantasy Football Lineup Decisions for Week 9 (2024) - Diontae Johnson, Keon Coleman, Jalen Tolbert, Brian Thomas, Jakobi Myers, Brian Robinson, Keenan Allen, Tee Higgins, Bo Nix

It's almost time for Sunday football. Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Sunday football and Week 9 of the 2024 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell […]


Bryce Young - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

High-Upside Bench Stashes: Weekend Waiver Wire Adds for Week 9 Includes Jalen Coker, Troy Franklin, Jaylen Wright, Erick All Jr., Kimani Vidal, Blake Corum

Mastering the waiver wire is a crucial skill that can lead you to a fantasy football championship. It's not just about strategically placing your FAAB budget on specific players but also about knowing when to stash players. This dual strategy keeps you engaged and focused on your ultimate goal of winning a fantasy championship. As […]


Video: Week 9 Booms, Sleepers, and Streamers - 2024 Fantasy Football Start 'Em Analysis

Let's go, RotoBallers! We are back and dropping fire content for the weekend ahead with our top Week 9 booms, sleepers, and streamers! NFL Network and RotoBaller contributor LaQuan Jones gives in-depth fantasy football advice, breaking down some of his high-upside, sleeper, and value plays as we head into Week 9 of the new fantasy […]


Josh Downs - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Buy Low, Sell High Week 9 Fantasy Football Trade Value Recommendations - Josh Downs, Chris Olave, Cedric Tillman, more

Welcome to Week 9 of the NFL season! We’re deep into the grind where every decision counts more than ever. With injuries piling up and bye weeks affecting lineups, knowing when to buy low or sell high can be the key to revitalizing your team. Whether riding high after a win or looking to bounce […]


Jameis Winston - NFL DFS Picks, Waiver Wire, Fantasy Football Rankings

Week 9 Superflex 2QB Rankings for Fantasy Football: Updates for Jameis Winston, Joe Flacco, Matthew Stafford, Daniel Jones, Trevor Lawrence, Drake Maye

With quarterbacks beginning to get benched or banged up, some backup quarterbacks are entering lineups and have become viable in Superflex and two-QB leagues. Our Week 9 fantasy football Superflex rankings (2QB) for 2024 are here to help you close start-or-sit calls between comparable options. Below, you can see where RotoBaller has key Superflex options […]


Bucky Irving - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings (2024) - Week 9 Updates Include Rhamondre Stevenson, Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Bucky Irving

Incredibly, Week 9 has already kicked off, and Thursday's game is already in the books. It's time to start reviewing your dynasty leagues to decide whether to make a run for the championship or sell off for next year. There were some big trades in the NFL recently, with DeAndre Hopkins heading to Kansas City […]


Chris Olave - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Week 9 PPR Rankings for Fantasy Football: Overall Updates Include Marvin Harrison, Chris Olave, Amari Cooper, Jayden Reed, Rachaad White, Nick Chubb

The Week 9 slate brings a must-win situation to many fantasy managers, so it's time to lock in and set optimal fantasy football lineups. Below, you'll see our NFL team's updated Week 9 fantasy football PPR rankings for 2024. Let's see where key players like Cooper Kupp, T.J. Hockenson, Jaylen Waddle, Tank Bigsby, Jalen McMillan, […]


Josh Downs - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Week 9 FLEX Rankings for Fantasy Football (RB, WR, TE) - Updates Include Jalen McMillan, Xavier Worthy, Calvin Ridley, Josh Downs, Kareem Hunt, DJ Moore

The fantasy football playoffs will be here before we know it, so if you need a few wins to secure your spot and are looking for lineup advice, you have come to the right place. We're here to help with our NFL team's updated Week 9 fantasy football FLEX rankings for 2024. Comparing two flex […]


Chase Brown - Fantasy Football Rankings, Waiver Wire Pickups, Draft Sleepers

Week 9 Running Back Rankings for Fantasy Football: RB Updates Include Tank Bigsby, Chuba Hubbard, Tyrone Tracy, Chase Brown, Rico Dowdle, JK Dobbins

The running back position has seemingly been the most consistent in fantasy football this season, but things can change in a hurry, so it's important to set optimal lineups each week. Let's get to crucial start-or-sit decisions with help from our updated Week 9 fantasy football running back rankings for 2024. Where do key RBs […]


Cedric Tillman - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Week 9 Wide Receiver Rankings for Fantasy Football: WR Updates Include Cedric Tillman, Darnell Mooney, Khalil Shakir, Romeo Doubs, Jaylen Waddle, more

Ahead of the Week 9 NFL slate, the wide receiver position is the deepest in fantasy football, but that can lead to troubling start-or-sit decisions, especially when comparing two flex-level WR options. We're here to assist with our NFL team's updated Week 9 fantasy football wide receiver rankings for 2024. Let's dive into the rankings […]


Cole Kmet - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL injury News

Week 9 Tight End Rankings for Fantasy Football: TE Updates Include Cade Otton, Cole Kmet, Kyle Pitts, Evan Engram, David Njoku, Tucker Kraft, Sam LaPorta

Tight ends showed out last week on National Tight End Day, so hopefully, the momentum continues for the tough position to analyze and navigate. Below, you'll see our NFL team's updated Week 9 fantasy football tight end rankings for 2024 to help you make tough start-or-sit decisions. Let's dig into the rankings to find out […]