The theme for the Dallas Cowboys 2018 season should be DEVELOPMENT! This is a team that desperately needs its young players to become special talents in the NFL. No players development is more important to the Dallas Cowboys than Taco Charlton.
Taco Charlton was the Cowboys 2017 1st round pick. There were a ton of question marks surrounding Charlton coming out of college. Would his athleticism be good enough to make an impact in the league? Will his lack of a pass rush repertoire hinder his progression at the next level? Can he learn to utilize that big frame and be the defensive linemen that NFL organizations covet? After one season all those question marks still remain. The Cowboys better hope Taco Charlton can begin to check off all those questions this season.
Charlton wasn’t drafted to be the Cowboys bookend pass rusher. Bookend pass rusher being the guy you can count on for 12+ sacks a season. Some fans will say, “ why draft a guy in the first round if you don’t expect him to be the bookend pass rusher.” The simple answer is that defenses need guys to be disruptive. Take a player like Everson Griffin. It took Griffin four years to become the player that we know today. While the Cowboys hope they don’t have to wait four years to get a return on Charlton, if he has an impact similar to Griffin then the Cowboys made a good pick.
Lofty sack totals shouldn’t be how we judge Charlton's impact on defense. I don’t see him as a yearly 12-15 sack defensive end. Let’s look at some of the other players around the league whose style of play Charlton can emulate.
Michael Bennett has been a very good defensive lineman for the past 6 season. He has never had over 10 sacks in a season. Bennett’s physical build is also very similar to Taco Charlton. Where Bennett makes his living is being disruptive. He consistently has double digit tackles for loss. That means he is disrupting plays in the backfield. Any play that results in negative yards for the offense is a win for the defense.
Another player that Taco can emulate is Calais Campbell. I know some of you will read this and say, “ He is out of his mind to compare Taco to Campbell.” I’m not comparing the two players, I’m comparing the impact they can have on the field. Prior to last season Campbell hadn’t produce more than 9.5 sacks. There is no arguing that Campbell has been one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the league for the last 7 seasons. He hasn’t had less than 12 tackles for a loss in a season since the 2010. I use the stat tackles for loss because it shows that a player is making plays. Campbell, Griffin, and Bennett are all playmaking defensive linemen, even when they aren’t getting sacks and that’s what the Cowboys need from Charlton.
The goal isn’t for Taco to get 14 sacks a season. The goal is for him to get his 8-10 sacks a season and 12+ tackles for loss. That will be a great indication that he is making plays, thus altering the outcomes of games.
Another reason for the Cowboys to want Charlton to develop into a Michael Bennett type defensive end is because they may have to move on from Demarcus Lawrence. I love Tank Lawrence but his contract is coming up at the wrong time. The Cowboys just signed Zack Martin to a huge contract. They will have to negotiate Dak’s contract next offseason and pick up Zeke’s fifth year option in the next two season. That means that some of the free money they will receive from those dead money deals is already accounted for. Presenting the possibility of Tank Lawrence being a cap casualty regardless of how well he plays this season. If Lawrence puts up anything close to what he did last season he will be able to demand upwards of $17 million a season. That’s money the Cowboys can’t commit to one player on the defensive side of the ball.
Enters in Taco! If he is able to be the disruptive player they hope he can be, they will be able to move on from Lawrence. The combination of Charlton and Gregory could hold down the Cowboys edges while their able to add young talent to the defensive side of the ball.
Comments
Post a Comment