Chiefs' George Karlaftis Sends Clear Message on KC Future at OTAs

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Kansas City Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis addressed his plans for his NFL future at OTAs.

The Kansas City Chiefs chose to exercise the fifth-year options of both defensive back Trent McDuffie and defensive end George Karlaftis — who were both selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft — in May, and the latter addressed his KC future beyond that fifth-year option at OTAs.

“I’ll let whoever has to handle that handle that,” Karlaftis told reporters at OTAs when asked about a long-term extension, “but, you know, I’d like to be here as long as I can.”

“My now-fiance and I absolutely love Kansas City, love this organization,” the pass rusher added. “So, I’ll let whoever has to handle that handle that. But I love it here.”

Clearly, on the topic of a Karlaftis extension, the former first-round talent’s message is pretty straightforward. He wants to be a member of the Chiefs both now and in the future.

The ball is now in general manager Brett Veach’s court.

George Karlaftis Has Been an Underrated Force Within the Chiefs’ Defense

Karlaftis is almost inherently underrated, if that’s even possible. He plays second fiddle to Chris Jones on the defensive line, and he’s often talked about as the second-most important draft pick in 2022, behind McDuffie.

Despite his consistency, he’s never really discussed much around the NFL as an elite defensive end either. Instead, he’s generally talked about within a second or third tier below the top of the league.

That doesn’t bother Karlaftis, who told reporters that he doesn’t “need to prove anything to anybody other than the people in this building” at Chiefs OTAs.

“That’s how I feel,” Karlaftis continued, “Coach [Joe] Cullen, [defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo], Coach [Andy] Reid, my teammates, I got their back just like they got mine, and I try to put my best foot forward every day to get better and do what I can on the field. Whatever recognition is to come, it’ll come, I’m not really worried about that at all.”

Statistically speaking, Karlaftis has gotten better every year.

According to Pro Football Focus, Karlaftis had a porous missed tackle rate of 30.0 as a rookie, but he lowered that missed tackle rate to 12.7% in 2023 and 10.0% in 2024. It’d be nice to see Karlaftis get that average under 10% in 2025.

His total quarterback pressures did dip slightly in 2024 (with 76) after surging up to 83 pressures during his second NFL campaign (including playoffs), but his number of QB hits spiked from 8 to 25 last year, so his quality of QB pressures has improved.

If you count the playoffs, Karlaftis has averaged almost 11 sacks per season since entering the league. His key defensive “stops” on PFF have remained pretty consistent as well, with 24 as a rookie, 32 in year two, and 31 in 2024.

George Karlaftis Has Great Things to Say About Chiefs Draft Pick Ashton Gillotte at OTAs

Karlaftis also chatted up the potential of new Chiefs draft pick Ashton Gillotte while speaking at OTAs.

“It’s a crazy coincidence because I’ve known Ashton for a few years now,” Karlaftis shared. “The staff that I had under Purdue, who I absolutely love like family… after I left, they went to Louisville, and they had Ashton [on their roster] and were just raving about him.”

Karlaftis went on to note that he spent a lot of his offseason training with his college coaches, and he was with Gillotte a lot.

“[I] took him [under my wing] and showed him some stuff and helped him out as much as I could. Gave him my number and said — hey, if you have any questions, ask me,” the Chiefs starter revealed, regarding Gillotte, calling it a “great relationship.”

And keep in mind, this was before KC drafted him.

“You never think that it’ll happen like that,” Karlaftis said of Gillotte ending up in Kansas City, “but the stars align and it happened.”

Karlaftis highlighted the rookie’s “tenacity” and “effort” as qualities that stick out. He also relayed that Gillotte is a “strong kid [who] wants to be good,” and that he’s “humble and is a hard worker.” Sound familiar?

Michael Obermuller covers the NFL for Heavy.com, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus specialize on the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers, with expert knowledge on each based on years of coverage. An NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate, Michael also provides MLB coverage at Athlon Sports, and his previous bylines include Heavy on Jets, FanDuel’s The Duel, King Fantasy Sports and Pro Football Mania. More about Michael Obermuller