Las Vegas is due to host two familiar opponents in the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 11. The Kansas City Chiefs will aim for their second straight Super Bowl victory and third in the last five seasons, while the San Francisco 49ers pursue their sixth Lombardi Trophy as a franchise and their first since 1995.
These two teams met in the Super Bowl just four years ago, in 2020, where the Chiefs outlasted the 49ers 31-20 While a lot has changed for both teams since then, one constant is that the Georgia Bulldogs will once again be represented on football’s biggest stage.
Chris Conley is the longest-tenured pro on this list, having been drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft. Through four years at Georgia, Conley caught 112 passes for 1,938 yards and 20 touchdowns as a frequent target of SEC all-time passing leader Aaron Murray.
Conley’s draft stock surged after a freakish NFL Combine performance, where he wowed scouts with his athleticism and even set the record for highest broad jump at 45 inches, a record that still stands.
Conley played four seasons in Kansas City before stops in Jacksonville, Houston and Tennessee and a very brief Chiefs reunion.
He signed with the 49ers in April of 2023 and spent the season on the practice squad before being promoted to the active roster in December.
He’s caught three passes for 69 yards as a 49er, including the biggest play of his career so far. With San Francisco trailing the Green Bay Packers by four points with three minutes left in the second round of the playoffs,
quarterback Brock Purdy found Conley on the sideline for a huge 17-yard gain that helped set up the eventual game-winning touchdown.
Conley will get another shot to come up big for the 49ers — this time against his former team with everything on the line.
Hardman is the only former Bulldog on either of these teams who played in the teams’ first Super Bowl meeting in 2020. His offensive impact in that game was limited, as he carried the ball once for a 6-yard loss and caught one pass for two yards. He also returned three kickoffs for 58 yards with a long of 29 yards.
The Chiefs drafted Hardman in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft after three years at Georgia where he was a big-play threat as both a wideout and return specialist.
He was a solid contributor for his first few years in Kansas City before signing with the New York Jets ahead of the 2023 season. His time in New York was short-lived, however, as he was traded back to the Chiefs this past October.
Since his return to Kansas City, Hardman has struggled, much like the rest of the Chiefs’ wide receiver room. He’s nearly cost his team big in the playoffs twice, first by a non-existent attempt to catch the ball on a perfectly thrown Mahomes deep ball in the team’s first-round matchup with Miami; then again with an almost-catastrophic end zone fumble in the next-round against Buffalo that could’ve easily cost the Chiefs the game.
Still, he’s one of the only Chiefs receivers with Super Bowl experience, and the only one from the 2019 team. That experience is precious in a game as big as this one, and Kansas City may end up needing Hardman for a big play or two.
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