{"id":77020,"date":"2025-07-07T09:28:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T09:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020"},"modified":"2025-07-07T09:29:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T09:29:13","slug":"breaking-chiefs-up-and-coming-defender-named-promising-building-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Chiefs&#8217; Up-And-Coming Defender Named &#8216;Promising Building Block&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>When most people think of the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs&#8217; defense, Chris Jones immediately comes to mind, and rightly so.However, another young pass rusher is quickly making a name for himself and, over the past three seasons, has developed into quite the weapon for Steve Spagnuolo.<\/p>\n<p>And that is pass rusher George Karlaftis.<\/p>\n<p>Totaling 24.5 sacks in 44 games, along with a career-high 28\u00a0quarterback\u00a0hits last season, George is quickly rising up the ranks, but it is his playoff numbers that show his value.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN&#8217;s Seth Wickersham on NFL teams run as mom-and-pop shopsESPN&#8217;s Seth Wickersham on NFL teams run as mom-and-pop shops<\/p>\n<p>A total of 8.0 sacks in nine games, eight tackles for loss, and 16 quarterback hits show he&#8217;s a big-game player.<\/p>\n<p>And because of that, Bleacher Report has named Karlaftis as a promising building block for the Chiefs moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When the Kansas City Chiefs defense takes the field, three-time All-Pro Chris Jones garners most of the attention at the line of scrimmage,&#8221;\u00a0Bleacher Report&#8217;s Moe Moton writes. &#8220;However, George Karlaftis has earned respect with 93 pressures and 24.5 sacks in three seasons.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Karlaftis isn&#8217;t generating the same amount of buzz as fellow 2022 first-rounders Travon Walker and\u00a0Aidan Hutchinson\u00a0in terms of extension talks. That said, he&#8217;s taken some attention away from Jones as an effective three-down defender who can get to the quarterback and stop runs behind the line of scrimmage.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/t_share\/MjEyNjA2Mzg1NDIxMDM1MDE3\/george-karlaftis-texans-sack.jpg\" alt=\"BREAKING: Chiefs' Up-And-Coming Defender Named 'Promising Building Block'-thong123\" width=\"3865\" height=\"2577\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Kansas City Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis sacks Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n<p>With his fifth-year option coming at the end of 2025, the Chiefs will have a decision to make, and if the defensive end continues producing as he has done, a sizable contract will be coming his way.<\/p>\n<p>Spotrac.com already has his value at\u00a0$22.2 million APY\u00a0with an expected contract of three years at $66 million, so that will only go up if his numbers continue to climb.<\/p>\n<p>Jones won&#8217;t be around forever, and at just 23 years old, maybe it is Karlaftis who takes the torch and becomes the leader of that defensive line.<\/p>\n<p>And in doing so, will be a good &#8220;building block&#8221; for the franchise moving forward.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When most people think of the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs&#8217; defense, Chris Jones immediately comes to mind, and rightly so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":77022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Chiefs&#039; Up-And-Coming Defender Named &#039;Promising Building Block&#039; - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Chiefs&#039; Up-And-Coming Defender Named &#039;Promising Building Block&#039; - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When most people think of the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs&#039; defense, Chris Jones immediately comes to mind, and rightly so.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-07T09:28:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-07T09:29:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/638874161058341815-1024x726.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"726\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020\",\"name\":\"BREAKING: Chiefs' Up-And-Coming Defender Named 'Promising Building Block' - News 365\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/638874161058341815.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-07T09:28:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-07T09:29:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/638874161058341815.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/638874161058341815.png\",\"width\":1748,\"height\":1240},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING: Chiefs&#8217; Up-And-Coming Defender Named &#8216;Promising Building Block&#8217;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"News 365\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\",\"name\":\"MrLuu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrLuu\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING: Chiefs' Up-And-Coming Defender Named 'Promising Building Block' - News 365","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING: Chiefs' Up-And-Coming Defender Named 'Promising Building Block' - News 365","og_description":"When most people think of the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs' defense, Chris Jones immediately comes to mind, and rightly so.","og_url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020","og_site_name":"News 365","article_published_time":"2025-07-07T09:28:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-07T09:29:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":726,"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/638874161058341815-1024x726.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MrLuu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrLuu","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020","name":"BREAKING: Chiefs' Up-And-Coming Defender Named 'Promising Building Block' - News 365","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/638874161058341815.png","datePublished":"2025-07-07T09:28:50+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-07T09:29:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/638874161058341815.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/638874161058341815.png","width":1748,"height":1240},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=77020#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING: Chiefs&#8217; Up-And-Coming Defender Named &#8216;Promising Building Block&#8217;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/","name":"News 365","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6","name":"MrLuu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrLuu"},"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=77020"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77024,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77020\/revisions\/77024"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/77022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=77020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=77020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=77020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}