Quote:
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho
Honestly, Karlaftis is a tough eval. He’s physical and really good but also maybe tapped out physically.
I’m not sure I’d prefer him to guys like Enagbare or Sanders or Ebitekie or Drake Jackson who have more explosive athletic profiles.
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I really don't think this thought process is fair to the evaluation of Karlftis either. He likely is tapped out physically, he's 6'4" 275 and a load at the LOS. It's the same thing as Aidan Hutchinson being tapped out physically. Many of the others, especially a guy like Majai Sanders, don't play at the same level Karlaftis does and they need to establish pro bodies.
Karlaftis sets a hard edge and is disciplined against the run rather than a pin-your-ears-back, one-trick pony like many collegiate ends. He's explosive as well. He got a lot of double-teams too as he was the focal point at Purdue unlike a guy like Hutchinson or Obajo, where Michigan will likely have 3 guys on the line picked by the end of day 2 in this draft and could 4 from the unit drafted. I'm not saying those players are bad, they both look great, but they didnt have the doubles like Karlaftis had.
If there is any argument, he doesn't have elite bend. What he does do though is use his hands well and makes himself skinny to slip blocks and then his closing burst is elite. When he gets there, you know it too. I look at him as a perfect 4-3 LDE.
If he magically falls, I would take him well above any and all of the guys you have listed here.