2015 Atlanta Falcons Potential Draft Pick Profile: WR Chris Conley

While the Atlanta Falcons do have Julio Jones and Roddy White on the roster as their starting wide receivers, they need to develop someone to be a long-term complement to Jones.

Georgia's Chris Conley is a local talent who fits in well with the new concepts of the offense.

He's a ridiculously athletic possession receiver who can make plays on the ball. The Falcons need to take a chance on him and see what he has. He would have an ideal situation in which to learn how to be a pro receiver, as he'd never have to be a No. 1 and could learn from an accomplished veteran in White and wide receiver coach Terry Robiskie.

Chris Conley

Wide Receiver

University of Georgia

Combine Measurements

Height: 6'2" Weight: 213 pounds

Arm Length: 33 ¾" Hand Size: 9 ⅞"

40-yard Dash: 4.35 seconds 10-yard Split: 1.52 seconds

20 yard Shuttle: 4.30 seconds 3-cone Drill: 7.06 seconds

Bench Press: 18 reps

Vertical Jump: 45" Broad Jump: 11'7"

Stats

2014: 13 Games Played; 36 Catches, 657 Yards, 8 Touchdowns

2013: 11 Games Played; 45 Catches, 651 Yards, 4 Touchdowns; 3 Tackles

2012: 14 Games Played; 20 Catches, 342 Yards, 6 Touchdowns; 1 Punt Return, 9 Yards, 1 Blocked Kick

2011: 11 Games Played; 16 Catches, 288 Yards, 2 Touchdowns

Scouting Report

Strengths

When it comes to a prototypical wide receiver, the only thing that Conley doesn't have is a few more inches of height—that's it. He possesses great weight, speed and strength for a position that requires all of it. He is also extremely instinctual in how to react to the ball in the air, and he combines that with strong body control.

He tracks the ball exceptionally well on deep throws and understands how to avoid getting jammed at the line too often. He can power through defenders and create yards after the catch even though the Georgia offense didn't give him many opportunities to do either during his last two seasons.

Weaknesses

Conley is a pretty solid all-around receiver, but he does have some tweaks that need to be made to his game. He needs to develop his route running a good bit, as he's too choppy in and out of breaks. He also has a tendency to get thrown off his routes by physical corners pressing him at the line.

There are times when you can tell that he gets bored while running routes, because he doesn't go 100 percent through them as a secondary target. But poor quarterback play his senior year and the latter part of his junior year could partially be to blame there.

How does he fit the Comrade Filter?

When the Comrade Filter came around, it was to bring guys like Conley to the forefront. He's a great person off the field who was one of Georgia's locker-room leaders, and he was one of the more intelligent players on the Bulldogs' roster.

He's a hard worker off the field who has also shown to be one of the better off-field characters due to a Star Wars parody that he made. If he doesn't end up panning out in the NFL, he should easily be able to have a career in broadcast journalism.

Overview

When looking for a wide receiver with the potential to be great, the Falcons only have to look around 47 miles to the south-east to get an idea of where their next receiver should come from. Conley is a very talented player who should end up in a situation where he can sit for a year before starting, if need be.

He's too raw in his routes and needs to learn how to better get off jams at the line before he finally takes on NFL-level perimeter corners. He's got potential to be an instant-impact guy as a slot receiver, though, and he should be a great influence in the locker room.

How he would fit into the Falcons' plans

The Falcons would have to spend a mid-round pick on the talented Bulldog. Conley would then have to compete with Leonard Hankerson and Devin Hester for the top slot-receiver role as a rookie. After that, it all depends on the status of White and Jones with the Falcons.

White is nearing the end of his career while Jones is scheduled for free agency after the 2015 season. If the Falcons wants to keep Jones and Conley as their receivers of the future, they would have an ideal pairing for coordinator Kyle Shanahan's offense and could spread defenses with their deep-ball abilities.

All stats used are either from ESPN, cfbstats.com or the NFL.com. All combine info is courtesy NFL Draft Scout. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac and Rotoworld.

Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He covers the Atlanta Falcons, College Football, the NFL and the NFL draft. He's also a Draft Analyst for Pro Football Spot.

Follow @ScottCarasik