*****The George Karlaftis Thread*****

[Dante84]

More to come!

What are the #Chiefs getting in George Karlaftis?

Had an NFC Personnel executive tell me “He reminds me of J.J. Watt, when Watt was coming out. An explosive and versatile playmaker who has a high motor and can line up at 3,5, or 7. Very strong kid” #NFL #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/5qM3g6OrMr

— Matt Lombardo (@MattLombardoNFL) April 29, 2022

George Karlaftis was drafted with pick 30 of round 1 in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.23 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 116 out of 1503 DE from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/iXXBvnoFJc #RAS #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/eZ9XjNRDUB

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 29, 2022

“I was sitting there the whole night hoping we’d be able to get you.”

Karlaftis gets the call �� pic.twitter.com/DRGBDekvnl

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 29, 2022

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by CasselGotPeedOn

Why did George only get credit for half a sack yesterday?

#Chiefs rookie DE George Karlaftis gets to #Raiders QB Jarrett Stidham for the 2nd down sack. He now was 6 sacks in his last 7 games. #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/FEcOwu9krl

— Devon Clements (@DevclemNFL) January 7, 2023

Lmao, look at the Raiders try to double team Chris. He wasn't having it and got there and was able to grab the QBs leg.

[Halfcan]

^ George and Chris were both so dominant in that play. Hope they keep it up.

[Sassy Squatch]

Putting this here for reasons


Arrest Warrant Issued For Cowboys Rookie Sam Williams Over Corvette Crash
https://www.tmz.com/2023/01/11/arres...orvette-crash/

[AdolfOliverBush]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

Putting this here for reasons


Arrest Warrant Issued For Cowboys Rookie Sam Williams Over Corvette Crash
https://www.tmz.com/2023/01/11/arres...orvette-crash/

I prefer pass rushers who look like mongoloids and aren't criminals.

[ChiefsFanatic]

I wasn't a fan of this pick on draft day. But, GK has come on in the second half of the season, and I am on record in this thread saying that I am excited to see how he improves from this year to next.

However, on draft day, there were people saying that he was almost the equivalent to Aiden Hutchinson, and that there wasn't that much of a difference between them.

I just watched some rookie highlights, and Holy Shit, there is a huge, huge difference between them. Hutchinson looked much faster, much more athletic, and is just a better football player than GK.

I am not hating on GK, but those people who were drawing comparisons between AH and GK to make the pick look better were just stupid.

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[ThyKingdomCome15]

Originally Posted by ChiefsFanatic

I wasn't a fan of this pick on draft day. But, GK has come on in the second half of the season, and I am on record in this thread saying that I am excited to see how he improves from this year to next.

However, on draft day, there were people saying that he was almost the equivalent to Aiden Hutchinson, and that there wasn't that much of a difference between them.

I just watched some rookie highlights, and Holy Shit, there is a huge, huge difference between them. Hutchinson looked much faster, much more athletic, and is just a better football player than GK.

I am not hating on GK, but those people who were drawing comparisons between AH and GK to make the pick look better were just stupid.

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Hutchinson had a game this year where he registered three sacks and finished the year with 9.5. George has had 6 sacks in his last seven games. So if you're looking for the hotter player right now, it's George.

But no, I never though George was on the same level as Hutchinson. He was great value however.

[Megatron96]

Originally Posted by ChiefsFanatic

I wasn't a fan of this pick on draft day. But, GK has come on in the second half of the season, and I am on record in this thread saying that I am excited to see how he improves from this year to next.

However, on draft day, there were people saying that he was almost the equivalent to Aiden Hutchinson, and that there wasn't that much of a difference between them.

I just watched some rookie highlights, and Holy Shit, there is a huge, huge difference between them. Hutchinson looked much faster, much more athletic, and is just a better football player than GK.

I am not hating on GK, but those people who were drawing comparisons between AH and GK to make the pick look better were just stupid.

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There's probably a lot of truth to this. If we're absolutely honest, Karlaftis is not physically special in any particular way. He's pretty fast, but not especially so. He's not very 'bendy,' or flexible, and he's not the most instinctive player in the world.

He has a really good motor, and a full offseason with the training staff, a proper conditioning program, etc., he could have a better motor. Maybe a great one. With a specialist training him, he could shave a tenth off his :40 time, which means more acceleration, and even more top speed, which kind of who cares, but to reach that goal he'd also have to get more limber, or bendy. Now, he's never going to be a yoga instructor, but he could significantly improve his flexibility, which could have several benefits.

And he's going to benefit from the coaching staff, in particular coach Cullen, who could greatly accelerate his learning curve, and make him one of the smartest young DEs in the league. That counts for a lot in Spags defense, when you're asked to not only do the traditional things DEs are asked to do in the NFL, but also cover, play all the positions on the DL, maybe even LB, as well. He's going to know a ton about the nuts and bolts of defense in a couple years. This time with Cullen could be formative for Karlaftis. And George has the fundamental building blocks to do what Cullen and Spags are going to be asking of him. He has good recognition skills and good instincts. He takes good angles most of the time, regardless of situation.

And he's playing for the Chiefs, so he's going to have ample opportunities to work on those skills; he'll hardly ever be asked to just defend the run, game after game, right? He's going to be playing in a lot of games where the other team is going to be throwing a lot.

George could transform into one of the best young DEs in a year or two, if he can find a little more burst, flexibility, and get samurai-like about working on his craft.

So, he probably won't ever be elite. Actually, unless he does suddenly become a yoga master, being elite is off the table. Solid mid-tier, he could do that. 8+ sacks a season, maybe peak out at 10+ a couple times?

I think we'd all like that.

[BossChief]

He split reps at DE as a rookie and had 6 sacks in 7 games to end the regular season and some still think his ceiling is 8-10 sacks?

Ummm ok

Once he refines his technique and packs on 10-15 pounds of muscle, I think his sights are higher than that.

[Bump]

sad that all people see are the stat line. He's been a significant upgrade at the position all season and got better throughout the season. he's gonna be a beast the next few years.

[Megatron96]

Well, I'm trying to be conservative here.

And yeah, he got 5 sacks to finish the season, but if we're honest, our last half dozen or so games weren't against the best OLs in the league. We kind of knew that the defense was going to look better, both statistically and in the eye test, partially because we knew they were going to be going up against inferior talent for the last few games.

In that 6 games stretch, they only faced one top-tier offense/OL, CIN, and one good one in SEA. The rest of those teams were bottom tier offenses, riddled with injuries, or were hamstrung by backup QBs. Not to mention that several were out of the playoff race by the time we ran into them.

So, yeah, I'm going to hedge a little on how optimistic I am right now. The thing is, almost everything that could make George better than average is going to grow between his ears. He's not a physical freak, but he's supposedly pretty smart. That's going to be his best weapon, not his bend or burst. He can improve, but he's never going to be mistaken for one of the Bosa brothers, physically speaking.

But he can develop the mental side of his game to a point where it starts to mitigate some of those physical limitations, so that he can be where he needs to be in time to make plays consistently. Because he does have some speed, and he has that motor.

That's going to take a little time, but like I said, he's going to have plenty of chances to hone his craft.

[JPH83]

Originally Posted by Megatron96

Well, I'm trying to be conservative here.

And yeah, he got 5 sacks to finish the season, but if we're honest, our last half dozen or so games weren't against the best OLs in the league. We kind of knew that the defense was going to look better, both statistically and in the eye test, partially because we knew they were going to be going up against inferior talent for the last few games.

In that 6 games stretch, they only faced one top-tier offense/OL, CIN, and one good one in SEA. The rest of those teams were bottom tier offenses, riddled with injuries, or were hamstrung by backup QBs. Not to mention that several were out of the playoff race by the time we ran into them.

So, yeah, I'm going to hedge a little on how optimistic I am right now. The thing is, almost everything that could make George better than average is going to grow between his ears. He's not a physical freak, but he's supposedly pretty smart. That's going to be his best weapon, not his bend or burst. He can improve, but he's never going to be mistaken for one of the Bosa brothers, physically speaking.

But he can develop the mental side of his game to a point where it starts to mitigate some of those physical limitations, so that he can be where he needs to be in time to make plays consistently. Because he does have some speed, and he has that motor.

That's going to take a little time, but like I said, he's going to have plenty of chances to hone his craft.

This is the most level headed take on here on him imo. Opposition matters and it's ridiculous not to factor that in alongside his possible growth this year. He has improved somewhat but his pressure rate hasn't been stellar and he's also had plenty of tackling whiffs.

He has physical limitations that will probably limit his ceiling BUT he has enough to develop into a very good if not elite DE especially given he seems smart and hard working. I still think he's pretty far off that right now.

[ChiefsFanatic]

Originally Posted by Megatron96

There's probably a lot of truth to this. If we're absolutely honest, Karlaftis is not physically special in any particular way. He's pretty fast, but not especially so. He's not very 'bendy,' or flexible, and he's not the most instinctive player in the world.

He has a really good motor, and a full offseason with the training staff, a proper conditioning program, etc., he could have a better motor. Maybe a great one. With a specialist training him, he could shave a tenth off his :40 time, which means more acceleration, and even more top speed, which kind of who cares, but to reach that goal he'd also have to get more limber, or bendy. Now, he's never going to be a yoga instructor, but he could significantly improve his flexibility, which could have several benefits.

And he's going to benefit from the coaching staff, in particular coach Cullen, who could greatly accelerate his learning curve, and make him one of the smartest young DEs in the league. That counts for a lot in Spags defense, when you're asked to not only do the traditional things DEs are asked to do in the NFL, but also cover, play all the positions on the DL, maybe even LB, as well. He's going to know a ton about the nuts and bolts of defense in a couple years. This time with Cullen could be formative for Karlaftis. And George has the fundamental building blocks to do what Cullen and Spags are going to be asking of him. He has good recognition skills and good instincts. He takes good angles most of the time, regardless of situation.

And he's playing for the Chiefs, so he's going to have ample opportunities to work on those skills; he'll hardly ever be asked to just defend the run, game after game, right? He's going to be playing in a lot of games where the other team is going to be throwing a lot.

George could transform into one of the best young DEs in a year or two, if he can find a little more burst, flexibility, and get samurai-like about working on his craft.

So, he probably won't ever be elite. Actually, unless he does suddenly become a yoga master, being elite is off the table. Solid mid-tier, he could do that. 8+ sacks a season, maybe peak out at 10+ a couple times?

I think we'd all like that.

I think GK is going to be a really, really good player for the Chiefs. I really wanted Christian Watson (I know he would have been a reach in the 1st, but I thought he had a lot of potential, and his size and speed was a tantalizing prospect) or I wanted a safety, because I really wasn't that high on GK.

And watching GK slide down the draft board, I obviously wasn't the only one who wasn't that high on GK, as some had projected him in the top 15 but he kept sliding.

But, there were people who were seriously suggesting that the gap between GK and AH wasn't 29 picks wide. Maybe they were trying to convince others, or themselves, that it was a good pick.

Watching the AH highlights really opened my eyes to the talent gap.

Think about this:

AH has more picks (3) than our 1st round corner, and more sacks than our 1st round defensive end. And he doesn't play with anyone the caliber of Chris Jones. Some of GK's sacks are directly related to Chris Jones and the havoc he causes.

Again, I am really a fan of GK now. I think he is going to keep improving, and could be a similar player to Tamba Hali.

But, the people who said that GK was as good, or nearly as good as AH were absolutely wrong.

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[JPH83]

Originally Posted by ChiefsFanatic

I think GK is going to be a really, really good player for the Chiefs. I really wanted Christian Watson (I know he would have been a reach in the 1st, but I thought he had a lot of potential, and his size and speed was a tantalizing prospect) or I wanted a safety, because I really wasn't that high on GK.

And watching GK slide down the draft board, I obviously wasn't the only one who wasn't that high on GK, as some had projected him in the top 15 but he kept sliding.

But, there were people who were seriously suggesting that the gap between GK and AH wasn't 29 picks wide. Maybe they were trying to convince others, or themselves, that it was a good pick.

Watching the AH highlights really opened my eyes to the talent gap.

Think about this:

AH has more picks (3) than our 1st round corner, and more sacks than our 1st round defensive end. And he doesn't play with anyone the caliber of Chris Jones. Some of GK's sacks are directly related to Chris Jones and the havoc he causes.

Again, I am really a fan of GK now. I think he is going to keep improving, and could be a similar player to Tamba Hali.

But, the people who said that GK was as good, or nearly as good as AH were absolutely wrong.

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Yeah I agree, though I didn't want Watson so maybe another one I got wrong. But I think GK was good value at the pick. I havent rated his performances this year anywhere near as highly as others on CP it seems, but I'm hopeful of a big improvement in year 2.

[PAChiefsGuy]

He seems to be getting better every week. I'm excited to see what his future has in store..

[BryanBusby]

I think alot of people are forgetting that Hutchinson was a complete product while George has barely played football.

He's still got a sharp improvement curve ahead of him.