Cardinals Host Visit With Potential Chandler Jones Replacement

The Arizona Cardinals' defense was dealt a blow this offseason when two-time All-Pro defensive-end Chandler Jones inked a three-year, $51 million with the Las Vegas Raiders. While it's tough to replace a player of Jones' caliber, the Cardinals seem to be eyeing a potential replacement at the 2022 NFL Draft.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Monday that the Cardinals, who hold the No. 23 pick in the draft, hosted EDGE George Karlaftis last week.

The #Cardinals hosted Purdue edge George Karlaftis for a visit last week, per source. One of the top testers at the combine (10-1 broad jump, 38-inch vertical at 6-3 3/4, 266), Karlaftis is considered a first-round prospect. Arizona, which lost Chandler Jones in FA, owns No. 23.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 11, 2022

Cardinals Draft Rumors

Karlaftis is one of the more exciting defensive prospects in this year's class. Although he missed a majority of the 2020 campaign due to injury and COVID-19, he didn't show any signs of rust last fall.

Karlaftis finished his third and final season at Purdue playing 12 games while recording 39 total tackles (10.0 for a loss), 4.5 sacks, four defended passes and a pair of forced fumbles. By the time the season was done, he was named third-team All-American and received first-team Big Ten honors for the first time in his career.

The Cardinals were tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the 13th-most sacks (41.0) last season, of which Jones had 10.5 of them. Karlaftis likely won't have that many in his first season, however, his non-stop motor and high ceiling could make him an adequate replacement in the near future.

After failing to meet expectations last season, Arizona drafting a player of Karlaftis' pedigree could help with the organization's championship aspirations. As it stands, FanDuel Sportsbook is giving the Cardinals +2500 odds to win Super Bowl LVII next season.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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