With the 28th overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys take defensive end Taco Charlton. How does this pick grade out?
The defending NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys had to wait until No. 28 to make their first pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. Of course, you won’t hear anyone complaining considering the club comes off a 13-3 season and has emerging stars such as quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott – both rookies in 2016.
Now the team hopes that University of Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton can be just as impactful as a rookie as both of those offensive forces were in their debut campaigns. The 6’6’, 272-pound performer got better as his college career unfolded. He would play in a combined 11 game in his first two seasons with the Wolverines. He had a combined total of 3.5 sacks, both coming in his sophomore year. In each of his last two seasons, Charlton played in 11 contests and racked up 15.5 sacks – 10 of those quarterback traps in 2016.
We have heard plenty about the deficiencies of the Dallas defense in recent years. The Cowboys haven’t totaled at least 40 sacks in any season since 2011. Charlton can hopefully cure some of those ills.
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It’s a very big year for head coach Jason Garrett and these Cowboys. Giving defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli a talented pass rusher is a good start. But there are still a lot of question marks when it comes to this unit as a whole. Taco Charlton is a good start when it comes to fixing a pass rush that produced only 36 sacks this past season. It will be interesting to see if he can contribute immediately.
GRADE: B+