The Kansas City Chiefs used the No. 30 overall pick on Purdue’s George Karlaftis to address the pass rush.
The Kansas City Chiefs held two first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, one of which coming from the Miami Dolphins in the Tyreek Hill trade. The team moved up from No. 29 to No. 21 to select Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie. Chiefs fans were clamoring for the team to get an edge rusher.
With the 30th-overall pick, the Chiefs selected Purdue pass rusher George Karlaftis to bolster their defense and to ensure that they can get to the opposing quarterback in what is going to be a tough AFC in 2022.
Chiefs fans react to team selecting Purdue’s George Karlaftis
Karlaftis was viewed as one of the best defensive end prospects in this year’s NFL Draft. Yet, he dropped down the board since the middle of the first round was dominated by wide receivers. With Karlaftis still available, the Chiefs happily brought him on to add to their defense.
This past season, the Boilermakers defensive end was a first-team All-Big Ten player selection after recording 39 total tackles (10 for loss), 4.5 sacks, four defended passes, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 12 games.
In his three years at Purdue, Karlaftis posted 97 combined tackles, 29 tackles for loss and 14 sacks.
With the conference and the West division set to be a tough battle, the Chiefs used their first-round selections to shore up the defensive side of the ball.