ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The quickest way to the quarterback for a defensive end is usually the most direct route, and that may be why Chiefs rookie George Karlaftis is so adept at bulldozing his way through an unsuspecting offensive tackle and into the backfield.
Then again, perhaps it's because the route Karlaftis took to reaching the NFL was anything but direct.
The first-round pick out of Purdue grew up in Athens — not the one in Georgia, home to the Bulldogs, but the one in Greece, home to the Parthenon. His father, Matt, was an accomplished track and field athlete who had ventured to the U.