The Kansas City Chiefs drafted former Purdue Boilermakers defensive lineman George Karlaftis with the 30th overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Chiefs made the selection hoping Karlaftis would make an immediate impact on one of the game’s most important position groups. Karlaftis certainly did that as he started all 17 regular season games for the Chiefs while notching six sacks, eight tackles for loss, 11 quarterback hits and seven passes defended.
Pro Football Talk noted he was on the field for 64 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in the regular season before compiling four tackles and a sack in the team’s three postseason games.
It’s fair to wonder how Karlaftis will top a rookie campaign in which he won a Super Bowl. But Karlaftis recently told The Kansas City Star that he wants to “improve and build on” what he accomplished last year.
“Trying to be as complete of a player as possible,” Karlaftis told Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star. “Not [have] people saying, ‘Oh, he’s not good enough in the run,’ or, ‘He’s not a good enough pass rusher,’ or anything like that. Just being a complete player.”
Karlaftis is using the experience from last year to build on this season where he’ll be expected to play an even bigger role.
“Just to experience every one of those games and go into the offseason — watching film, taking those mental reps in the offseason, then enhancing your physical just builds you up for a bigger and better season,” Karlaftis said. “Anything you can do really to help the team.”
