George Karlaftis 2022 NFL Draft Profile
This year’s draft class for EDGE rushers shows to be a deep one, with good-to-great talent to be found into early round three potentially. One name that seems to be flying under radars is George Karlaftis from Purdue. A lot of mocks, mine included, have Karlaftis somewhere in the late first round to early second-round range. From watching his tape while in college, there is a lot to like but at the same time, there are clear things to work out. We dive into all that and more in this 2022 NFL Draft profile.
His combine workout wasn’t awesome. As noted in our EDGE rushers combine notes, it left some to be desired. He did not run a 40 time, which was odd. He has nice length but doesn’t use it all the time, at least in this workout.
The good things stand out pretty well. For starters, he already has the frame of someone who plays in the NFL (6’4, 266 lbs with 32 5/8″ arms). Always plays very physical and uses that tenacity and his length to create separation at the point of contact. Motor always seems to be running. Loves to work in the B-gap. Watching him go from one pass move to another appears to be fairly easy for him, which is a big plus.
My biggest knock on him is he seems to be purely a pass rusher, which just won’t cut it when he has the production he had in college (7.5 sacks his freshman year, 6.5 his next two years combined). Those numbers are nice, but just don’t scream first-round talent to me. His tape doesn’t show me top-end skill against the run. He seems to work best against short-armed tackles, so when he is matched up with a guy with length, that will present a challenge. His games against Ohio State weren’t pretty. That is as close to NFL talent as you will find in college. Not a good sign.
George Karlaftis projected as a top 50 pick in this year’s NFL Draft, and that’s probably where he should be. I can understand the appeal behind him. Having a guy who never takes a play off is something you want, but I can find guys that were more productive whose motor is always running. He seems like more of a long term project, so I expect him to go early in the second round to a team who is rebuilding.
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