Verdict
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 26,068
- Reaction score
- 20,265
One of the big question marks for the upcoming season is Taco Charlton. What is he? What should we expect? What should his contribution be?
He was a first round pick. From my point of view a first round pick should not be a complete project. A bottom of the first round player may not be "starter ready" but he should "flash potential" on a frequent enough basis to justify the pick and inspire confidence that he will eventually be "the guy".
In my eyes Taco failed that reasonable test last year and underperformed his draft status. That does not mean he is a bust, can't redeem himself, or eventually be "the man" but it does seem to indicate that he was a bit of a reach.
What are reasonable expectations for him this year, after a year of weight training, NFL experience and NFL coaching? I think the floor expectations are that he "should be" a starter. If not he is way behind his draft position. Moreover, he should also be at least an average starter at his position in his second year. Otherwise he is behind the curve.
What do I expect out of Taco? I expect him to be way above average against the run. He should be sealing off the end with the best of them. Reality? I think he will be close to that this year.
What do I expect out of Taco in pass rushing? I expect him to get at least 8 sacks. I think barring a bit of luck he will fall short of that.
Summary. I expect Taco to underperform his draft status. I think he will eventually be a solid but very unspectacular player for the first few years of his contract. He will eventually be an average starter at DE even if it's not this year.
I think Taco was drafted two rounds to early for his skill level. That's not the end of the world, but it was not a great use of a first round pick. I believe we could have drafted a player of Taco's ability level in the 3rd round. That's not the end of the world, obviously, but getting any less than an average starter out of Taco is significantly underperforming his draft status.
Side note: For those of you who think it's ok that Taco finally perform in the last year of his contract and then we are forced to let him walk or sign him to a big contract (THATS A BIG FAIL) because you can sign a guy like that in free agency.
He was a first round pick. From my point of view a first round pick should not be a complete project. A bottom of the first round player may not be "starter ready" but he should "flash potential" on a frequent enough basis to justify the pick and inspire confidence that he will eventually be "the guy".
In my eyes Taco failed that reasonable test last year and underperformed his draft status. That does not mean he is a bust, can't redeem himself, or eventually be "the man" but it does seem to indicate that he was a bit of a reach.
What are reasonable expectations for him this year, after a year of weight training, NFL experience and NFL coaching? I think the floor expectations are that he "should be" a starter. If not he is way behind his draft position. Moreover, he should also be at least an average starter at his position in his second year. Otherwise he is behind the curve.
What do I expect out of Taco? I expect him to be way above average against the run. He should be sealing off the end with the best of them. Reality? I think he will be close to that this year.
What do I expect out of Taco in pass rushing? I expect him to get at least 8 sacks. I think barring a bit of luck he will fall short of that.
Summary. I expect Taco to underperform his draft status. I think he will eventually be a solid but very unspectacular player for the first few years of his contract. He will eventually be an average starter at DE even if it's not this year.
I think Taco was drafted two rounds to early for his skill level. That's not the end of the world, but it was not a great use of a first round pick. I believe we could have drafted a player of Taco's ability level in the 3rd round. That's not the end of the world, obviously, but getting any less than an average starter out of Taco is significantly underperforming his draft status.
Side note: For those of you who think it's ok that Taco finally perform in the last year of his contract and then we are forced to let him walk or sign him to a big contract (THATS A BIG FAIL) because you can sign a guy like that in free agency.
