Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
Said from day 1 - if Karlaftis is the guy we hope he could be (and who he appears to be developing into), he's the HARDEST part of complementary DEs to get.
A 3-down, fundamentally sound player who can do everything at a high level. Not a super high ceiling guy (I think Thibs, for instance, has a far higher ceiling) but a guy who simply doesn't take a single thing off the table.
And who allows you to be more targeted in our DE2. You can go find a focused pass rusher.
If a defensive line is a pitching staff, in Chris Jones you have your ace starter, in George Karlaftis you have a reliable 9th inning guy. Now you need a good swing reliever (sturdy run-stopping DT) to keep things steady and jam reliever (Speed rusher) to come get that key strikeout when you have to get out of an inning.
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All true but he's currently some way off being that player. I get the excitement with Karlaftis, but less so based on his play this year. He's had moments but I don't think there's been huge or obvious growth. He's been...fine. He needs to clean up his tackling for a start before he's the 3-down DE you mention.