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Meet 'Furious George' Karlaftis, the Chiefs rookie DE who needs a good sack dance
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Meet 'Furious George' Karlaftis, the Chiefs rookie DE who needs a good sack dance

Kansas City Chiefs first-round pick George Karlaftis gave his approval Monday for his new nickname, "Furious George," a play on "Curious George," a popular children's character.

After Kansas City drafted Karlaftis, coach Andy Reid called him "The Greek Freak 2," in reference to Karlaftis' place of birth, Athens, Greece. "The Greek Freak" is the nickname of NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks

With the nickname perhaps settled, his sack celebration might come next.

After his first preseason sack, Karlaftis' teammates joked that he needed to work on his sack dance. His second sack gave him an opportunity to show improvement.

The Chiefs have big plans for the No. 30 overall pick in this year's draft.

He had a nice preseason, racking up two sacks with two tackles and a handful of quarterback pressures. The Purdue product is expected to play opposite three-time Pro Bowler Frank Clark. Early in training camp, the Chiefs added veteran pass-rusher Carlos Dunlap, the former Bengal.

Karlaftis was one of two defensive rookies the Chiefs selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. With the No. 21 overall pick, Kansas City took cornerback Trent McDuffie, the former Washington star.

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