Measurables
UNIVERSITY- Purdue AGE-21 CLASS- JR
HEIGHT- 6’4” WEIGHT- 275 ARM LENGTH-
40 Time- 3 CONE- VERTICAL- BROAD JUMP- BENCH PRESS-
Overview
Yoros Karlaftis, now known as George Karlaftis, was born and raised in Athens, Greece. When his father passed away in 2014 his mother relocated him and his siblings to her hometown in West Lafayette, Indiana. There he would play his high school ball where he was named U.S. Army All-American National Player of the Year for the 2018 season, he also won back-to-back state championships in shot put. He also was apparently a part of the Greek national team in water polo. Karlafits burst onto the scene with a huge freshman year in 2019 as he started in all 12 games. He finished the season with 54 tackles, 17 TFL, 7.5 sacks, 1 INT, 3 PBUs, 2 FRs and 1 FF. He earned First-team Freshman All-American as well as Second-team All-Big Ten. His 2020 season was shortened by injury as well as Covid and he only started 3 games(out of 6). In those 3 games he combined for 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks and earned Second-team All-Big Ten. In 2021 he was able to bounce back as he started in all 12 games. He totaled 41 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 3 FFs and 2 PBUs. Karlaftis earned First-team All-Big Ten and Third-team All-American for his efforts
Strengths
Out of all the pass-rushers I’ve seen so far I would bet on George Karlaftis to generate the most pressures of anyone else in this class. George has the weight needed to play a 4-3 DE but I would also give him reps as a rusher from the DT spot as well in certain situations. Karlaftis is explosive off the ball with his first step; his powerful set of hands come to follow. He’s able to generate a lot of power with his following up-field steps. Karlaftis flashes an array of moves, from a quick chop and rip, a swim move, a quick swipe move inside and outside, he has a good pull and club move, he’s able to rush down the middle and get good push with a straight bull-rush and a one arm stab move as well. Karlaftis also shows a good feel regarding when is the appropriate time to use each move. He flashes a spin move but is it so ugly that I would prefer he stop doing it. Karlaftis shows good agility as he can quickly side-step a blocker as he performs these moves. Karlaftis has adequate bend to dip around the corner of OTs and his body control helps him tremendously in adjusting to OTs weight distribution. The way he comes off the ball combined with his build(I don’t think he’s quite 6’4”) leads to consistently good leverage. He’s really more of a downhill momentum edge rusher and defender. Karlaftis’ motor never stops running and he goes balls to the wall every play. He can be impossible to stop at-times once he has a full head of steam. George consistently drew chips and double or even triple team blocks to slow him down and prevent him from wreaking havoc as a rusher. I would say it’s a pretty tough ask to block him single-handedly as a pass rusher. He showed the ability to immediately shed blocks from multiple blockers on the same play. In other words he got off his initial blocker instantly, then a help blocker came and he shed that block instantly then he gets to a rb and he blows him up instantly. As a run defender, he can shoot gaps and cause disruption in the backfield, he does well working down the line to stop run plays. Karlaftis has experience rushing from a stand-up position or a 3-point stance, both yield positive results. Tight-ends hardly offer resistance as speed bumps let alone as barriers. I see him as an impact pass rusher from day 1. He has reps dropping into coverage and didn’t look out of place, obviously you don’t want him dropping back often though.
Weaknesses/Room for Improvement
Karlaftis doesn’t have ideal length and that shows up in his game rather consistently. When he is unable to win with his initial surge it can be tough for him to hold the point of attack. You’ll see his legs stop churning and he has the tenacity to be stuck. I don’t feel that he is the best at defending the run. Karlaftis often misses tackles in the open field. This can be attributed to his lack of length but also he struggles changing directions in split-second situations. He lacks overall ankle flexibility to round the corner efficiently in his pass rush arcs and struggles to redirect his momentum when facing a mobile QB. When he is tasked with holding the point of attack for an extended period of time it can be tough for him to disengage from blocks. Karlaftis really lives on his forward momentum and I’m not sure his anchor is very strong. Developing his ability to regain momentum after it is lost initially will be the greatest step in improving his game. He could do a better job of mirroring his leg-drive with his upper body power so he reduces the opportunity to be stone-walled. You have a really good shot to run right at Karlaftis and have success. Running away from Karlaftis can work as well but not with nearly the same amount of success.
Scheme Fit
Any 4-3 scheme that just allows their rushers to shoot up-field even on early downs. Give him reps as a DT in passing situations, I wouldn’t discredit him for a 3-4 team as an OLB either though. His lack of length may lend himself to landing on a 3-4 team. He’s a bit of a tweener.
Round Grade
1st Round