Green Bay Packers: 3 First Round EDGE Draft Prospects

The Green Bay Packers have two picks in the first round this year after trading away star receiver Davante Adams. They also lost edge rushers Za’Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus, which leaves a hole behind starters Preston Smith and Rashan Gary. While they make a formidable tandem, they can’t play every down, and having another impact player developing in that position would be huge.

The Packers’ need for edge guys who can take some of these snaps with minimal drop-offs is a big one as Preston Smith and Rashan Gary both played 68% of defensive snaps, leaving hundreds of snaps for the backups to fill.

So let’s meet three guys that could fill that role for the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the draft.

Draft Prospect #1: George Karlaftis

At 6’4″ 275 pounds, George Karlaftis is the bulkiest of this group of edge rushers. This is what helps him to also be the best at playing the run. With his massive frame, he’s able to play out of a three-point stance or standing up and he rarely to never gets overpowered in the run game. He has easily the most tackles for loss that weren’t sacks. His freshman year, he had 7.5 sacks, but a massive 17 tackles for loss and in 2021 he had just 4.5 sacks but 10 tackles for loss. His one issue in the run game is when run plays go away from him, he doesn’t pursue well by getting too far in the backfield and opening cutback lanes and not hustling to squeeze down the end of the line of scrimmage.

As a pass rusher, his sack numbers don’t look like anything special, but he actually has some great tools. He has a solid bull rush and can put the offensive tackle right in the quarterback’s lap occasionally. His best move is coming around the edge he is adept at keeping the tackle’s hands off him with an aggressive chop. Because they know he wants to get to the outside, tackles often set up deeper, so if he set up his inside move better, it could be a really effective counter move.

The final interesting thing about Karlaftis is how he changes direction. Because he’s so big and bulky, he doesn’t bend to turn the corner well and can be juked or outrun in open space. However, once in a while he flashes really great quick-twitch moves off the ball to get around an offensive lineman without them barely touching him. That rare small space quickness is what makes him very intriguing along with his NFL-ready frame.