Kansas City Chiefs DE George Karlaftis credits current and former veteran pass rushers for helping him craft his game
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis has had a very solid first three seasons to begin his NFL career. In 2022 he made an impact with 33 total tackles and six sacks. Then in 2023, he stepped up big with 47 total tackles, 10.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. In 2024 Karlaftis took a […]
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis has had a very solid first three seasons to begin his NFL career.
In 2022 he made an impact with 33 total tackles and six sacks. Then in 2023, he stepped up big with 47 total tackles, 10.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. In 2024 Karlaftis took a slight step back statically with 35 total tackles and eight sacks, but did record a career-high 37 quarterback pressures.
Coming out of college, Karlaftis was mostly touted for his high motor. While it's very true that he plays with one, he has also worked hard to refine his skills as a pass rusher. While speaking to our friends at KC Sports Network on Thursday, Karlaftis credited many former and current Chiefs pass rushers for helping develop his craft.
"I was lucky enough to have a few great veterans," Karlaftis said. "Still feel like I'm one of the younger guys in the room, even though I've had three years under my belt now. My rookie year specifically, having guys like Frank Clark, Carlos Dunlap, Chris Jones, later in the year Brandon Williams. Even a guy like Mike Danna, who was just a little older, helped mold me into the guy that I am today, you know, helped mold my game to what it is today. I learned so much, something different from each guy. We learned so much about the game. And having Chris and Mike here the whole time with me has helped me in so many ways, both on and off the field, and I love those guys."
During Kansas City's divisional round win over the Houston Texans a few weeks ago, Karlaftis took over the game during the fourth quarter, recording three sacks and sending Houston home nearly singlehandedly. Karlaftis has racked up the third-most sacks for a player in his first three seasons in postseason history.
The Chiefs will be leaning on him to come up big again during Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Eagles have a very good offensive line, so it will take some high motor efforts, combined with all the pass rush skills he's learned over the years, from Karlaftis to make an impact.
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