KANSAS CITY, Mo. — George Karlaftis was born and raised in Athens, Greece, where he was an exceptionally talented water polo player.
After his father's death in 2014, the Karlaftis family moved to West Lafayette, Indiana.
That’s where his mother, Amy, grew up and eventually met his father, Matthew, while studying at Purdue University.
Karlaftis has now built an NFL career from the ashes of that tragedy.
He took up football in eighth grade after moving to the U.S. and emerged as a star during the last three seasons with the Boilermakers.
Karlaftis became a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, when the Kansas City Chiefs bolstered their pass rush with the 30th overall pick.
“I’m excited to be a Chief,” Karlaftis said.
Initially, Karlaftis shied away from football.
His dad had suffered “a pretty bad head injury” as a walk-on at the University of Miami (Florida) before pursuing graduate studies at Purdue.
“I was, at first, cautious and almost scared to a certain extent, because I didn’t really know much about the game at all,” Karlaftis said.
But he gave it a try, in part “for the social aspect of it,” and within a year fell in love with the game.
“Generally speaking, I’ve always excelled in sports to a certain extent,” Karlaftis said. “Football sort of came natural to me after I had a full year under my belt. I truly fell in love with it. Just looking back on it, I had a crazy, crazy ride. Like the French say, c’est la vie, right? That’s life.”
Kansas City desperately needed to bolster a pass rush that ranked 29th in sacks last season.
“You’re going to love him,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He’s high octane, man. You’re going to love him.”
Karlaftis, who racked up 106 quarterback pressures in three seasons at Purdue, is a power rusher with the versatility to play multiple spots along the defensive line with the athleticism and strength to play all three downs.
“It’s relentless,” Karlaftis said. “I get after the quarterback. I stop the run. I feel like I’m a three‐down player. I’m an all‐around player that can do anything and everything that’s asked of him, so I think I bring that to the table. I feel like I’m very, very consistent. I feel like my best football is ahead of me.”
That sentiment permeated the pre-draft chatter about Karlaftis as a prospect since he’s relatively new to football.
“Young, relentless, dedicated to his craft,” Veach said. “All the people that we spoke to at Purdue just said all of his best football is in front of him.”
Veach expressed confidence that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and new defensive line coach Joe Cullen would “be able to take him to the next level.”
