George Karlaftis
George Karlaftis (Greek: Γιώργος Ματθαίου Καρλάφτης; kar-LAFF-tiss; born 3 April 2001) is a Greek-born professional American football defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Athens and grew up as a multi-sport athlete playing football, track and field, basketball, and water polo, the latter of which he played with the Greek national team.
 Karlaftis with Purdue in 2021 | |||||||||
| No. 56 – Kansas City Chiefs | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | 3 April 2001 Athens, Greece | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 263 lb (119 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | West Lafayette (West Lafayette, Indiana) | ||||||||
| College: | Purdue (2019–2021) | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2022 / Round: 1 / Pick: 30 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2022 | |||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||
Karlaftis and his family moved to the United States when he was 13. He played college football at Purdue, where he won all-Big Ten honors before being drafted by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Early years
Karlaftis was born in Athens, Greece.[1] His father Μathiós "Matthew" Karlaftis grew up as an all-around athlete in Greece and later earned a degree in civil engineering at the University of Miami before pursuing a doctorate at Purdue University.[2] His mother Amy, who had grown up near Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana, met Matthew while she was a freshman. After marrying, they settled in Athens.[3] While Amy spoke English to the couple's four children at home, they were otherwise brought up in Greek culture.[4]
In his early years in Athens, he played water polo as a goalkeeper in the youth ranks of Panathinaikos,[5] the Greek team of which he is also an avid supporter.[6][7]
Matthew died of a heart attack in 2014 while on the island of Kos where he was to deliver a speech at an engineering conference there.[2] Following his death, Amy and her children moved back to West Lafayette, where George Karlaftis began attending West Lafayette High School.[4] He was enlisted in the school's football team and had 41 sacks during his high school career.[8] He also competed in track and field for the school, including winning back-to-back state championships in shot put.[1] He played in the 2019 U.S. Army All-American Game, where he was named the Defensive Player of the Year.[9][10] He graduated early from high school and enrolled at Purdue in January 2019.[4][11][12]
College career
As a true freshman at Purdue in 2019, Karlaftis started all 12 games, recording 54 tackles and 7.5 sacks. He only played in three games as a sophomore in 2020 due to a positive COVID-19 result, finishing the year with four tackles and two sacks.[13] Karlaftis declared for the 2022 NFL Draft following the 2021 season in which he recorded 4.5 sacks.[14]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+3⁄4 in (1.92 m) |
266 lb (121 kg) |
32+5⁄8 in (0.83 m) |
10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) | 4.71 s | 1.65 s | 2.69 s | 4.34 s | 38.0 in (0.97 m) | 10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) | 21 reps | ||
| Sources:[15][16] | ||||||||||||
Karlaftis was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round (30th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft.[17] Karlaftis ended his rookie season with 33 tackle, 6 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries. The Chiefs reached Super Bowl LVII where they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38–35 with Karlaftis recording two tackles in the game.[18]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2022 | KC | 17 | 17 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 6.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Career | 17 | 17 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 6.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
Personal life
Karlaftis was once a youth member of the Greece men's national water polo team.[1] His father, Matthew, was a javelin thrower for the University of Miami's track and field team and also tried playing on their football team before suffering a severe skull injury during his first practice with them.[1][4] His brother, Yanni, won a youth world championship in judo at 11 and joined the Boilermakers as an outside linebacker in 2021.[1]
References
- King, Sam (10 August 2017). "Once told he 'sucks at football,' Division I prospect has long list of suitors". Journal & Courier. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- Hekimoglou, Achilleas (4 June 2014). "Πέθανε ο καθηγητής του ΕΜΠ Μαθιός Καρλαύτης" [Μathiós Karlaftis, NTU professor, died]. To Vima (in Greek). Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- "George Karlaftis Family". SportBlis. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- Rittenberg, Adam (14 April 2022). "NFL draft 2022: How George Karlaftis found his way to football between Greece and Indiana". ESPN.com. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
- "Γιώργος Καρλαύτης: Από το τέρμα του Παναθηναϊκού, ο πρώτος Έλληνας στο NFL!". Aquafeed24 (in Greek). 6 May 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- "Γιώργος Καρλαύτης_ Δείτε τον νικητή του Super Bowl, πιτσιρικά στη Λεωφόρο". sportday.gr (in Greek). SPORTDAY. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- "Απάντησε στην ΠΑΕ με σύνθημα του Παναθηναϊκού ο Καρλαύτης!". Trifilara.gr (in Greek). 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- Brockway, Kevin (8 August 2019). "Freshman DL Karlaftis could add punch to Purdue pass rush". Herald Bulletin. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- Carmin, Mike (4 January 2019). "West Lafayette's George Karlaftis, Purdue football on national stage at All-American Bowl". Journal and Courier. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- Carmin, Mike (4 January 2019). "West Lafayette's George Karlaftis wins national award". Journal and Courier. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- DeFabo, Mike (21 October 2017). "Four-star DE George Karlaftis commits to Purdue". Herald Bulletin. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- Hamilton, Gerry (23 October 2017). "Early Commit: DE George Karlaftis to Purdue". ESPN.com. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- VanHaaren, Tom (24 November 2020). "Purdue's Karlaftis tests positive for COVID-19". ESPN.com. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- Fezler, D.J. (7 December 2021). "Purdue Star Defensive End George Karlaftis Officially Declares for 2022 NFL Draft". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- "George Karlaftis Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- "2022 Draft Scout George Karlaftis, Purdue NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- McMullen, Matt (29 April 2022). "Five Things to Know About Chiefs' First-Round Pick Purdue DE George Karlaftis | 2022 NFL Draft". Chiefs.com. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- "Super Bowl LVII - Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs - February 12th, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- Doering, Joshua (26 April 2022). "George Karlaftis seeking God first on journey from Greece to Purdue to NFL". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved 26 April 2022.