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Kansas City Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis addressed the media recently for phase 3 of OTAs. He shared his focus on improving his get-off ability and noted that he's seen R Mason Thomas perform well at that in OTAs.
"For me, a lot of it's in the offseason training that I do, and a lot of it's really in film study. When I was a rookie, (former DE)Frank Clark gave me some tips that have really helped me out throughout my career so far. I'm really thankful that I've had great vets," said Karlaftis, "Now I'm starting to reach that role, I'm only 25, but I feel old in here, but yeah, I had great vets, (former DE) Carlos (Dunlap), Frank(and) Chris (Jones), obviously. Those guys helped me a lot just seeing keys and how I can improve offseason training and all that kind of stuff, too."
Karlaftis finished the 2025 season with 48 total tackles and six sacks in 16 games. He also had a fumble recovery with two pass deflections. He hopes to pass down his wisdom to rookie Thomas, who has a high upside.
"R Mason (Thomas), he's got a lot of juice," said Karlaftis, "He's a body type that we really haven't had as much of around here. He's very fluid, he's very athletic, he's very explosive, and he loves football, and he's trying to learn right now, and he's trying to prove himself. Him and all the rookies, they're great and like I said before, they have bright, bright futures here."
During four seasons at Oklahoma, Thomas played in 42 games, collecting 65 total tackles and 17 sacks, earning AP second-team All-American honors. Thomas was selected in the second round, 40th overall.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Chiefs DE George Karlaftis praises rookie pass rusher's impact at OTAs
Continue reading...
"For me, a lot of it's in the offseason training that I do, and a lot of it's really in film study. When I was a rookie, (former DE)Frank Clark gave me some tips that have really helped me out throughout my career so far. I'm really thankful that I've had great vets," said Karlaftis, "Now I'm starting to reach that role, I'm only 25, but I feel old in here, but yeah, I had great vets, (former DE) Carlos (Dunlap), Frank(and) Chris (Jones), obviously. Those guys helped me a lot just seeing keys and how I can improve offseason training and all that kind of stuff, too."
Karlaftis finished the 2025 season with 48 total tackles and six sacks in 16 games. He also had a fumble recovery with two pass deflections. He hopes to pass down his wisdom to rookie Thomas, who has a high upside.
"R Mason (Thomas), he's got a lot of juice," said Karlaftis, "He's a body type that we really haven't had as much of around here. He's very fluid, he's very athletic, he's very explosive, and he loves football, and he's trying to learn right now, and he's trying to prove himself. Him and all the rookies, they're great and like I said before, they have bright, bright futures here."
During four seasons at Oklahoma, Thomas played in 42 games, collecting 65 total tackles and 17 sacks, earning AP second-team All-American honors. Thomas was selected in the second round, 40th overall.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Chiefs DE George Karlaftis praises rookie pass rusher's impact at OTAs
Continue reading...
