The Kansas City Chiefs selected George Karlaftis in the first round with the expectation that he could be a top-tier defensive starter for years to come.
Karlatfis was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in his last season with the Purdue Boilermakers, recording five sacks, 11.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and 35 total pressures. He walks into a locker room featuring a number of salty veterans to start his NFL journey.
One of those veterans, Chiefs DE Frank Clark, has taken a liking to Karlaftis. He’s been working with him daily after training camp practices, passing on the knowledge shared with him by former Seahawks greats Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril. As it turns out, however, Clark isn’t the only defensive lineman who has taken Karlaftis under his wing.
The rookie spoke with reporters on Tuesday about being embraced by the defensive line group during training camp.
“Yeah, well, it’s not just Frank (Clark), really,” said Karlatfis. “It’s the whole group. They’re trying to take me under their wing. From Frank and Chris (Jones) to Mike (Danna) and Turk (Tershawn Wharton), everybody in the group’s just coming together as one. Obviously, Frank helps me out after every practice, and Chris helps me out in his own way, and everyone really helps me out in their own way cause we’re trying to have the strongest group possible, so we’re trying to bring everyone along.”
The Chiefs veterans embracing their young prospect is a vital sign of team unity and growth. Karlatfis has an opportunity to build and learn from some of the best in the league. That opportunity will only increase when newly-signed DE Carlos Dunlap formally joins the team at practice later this week.
