Jumbo075
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I sincerely believe that Taco Charlton was drafted in 2017 to replace DeMarcus Lawrence at LDE. When Charlton was drafted, Lawrence over his first 3 seasons, had missed 16 games games due to injury, and had only started 16 games, while playing in 16 others. He had only 9 sacks in those 32 games played over 3 seasons.
Charlton is not suited to play RDE. He doesn't have the body style, speed or skill set to be a weak side pass rusher going up against the top Left Tackles in the NFL. It is Charlton's bad luck that Lawrence had a breakout season in 2017, followed up by a really good 2018 season. So Charlton is doomed to be the backup to Lawrence, and unless there is an injury, Charlton is not going to get the chance in Dallas to prove his worth.
There was nothing wrong with the Cowboys using a late first round pick on a strong side DE in 2017. You don't typically get elite pass rushers in the bottom of the first round. So the Cowboys settled for a journeyman type player. But Lawrence has blown that up for Charlton. He's destined to be perceived as a bust in Dallas, even if he leaves and has a productive career for another team - kind of like Martellus Bennett, who was stuck behind Witten.
I still think Charlton was a reasonable pick, given the career path of Lawrence at the time the Cowboys made their 2017 first round selection. I choose to celebrate Lawrence finally achieving expectations rather than bemoan the failure of Charlton to beat him out. Lawrence was the 34th pick, while Charlton was the 28th pick. Not much difference, and Lawrence won the job. After Charlton's contract expires in 2020, I wish him luck with his next team.
The Cowboys need to determine who is the long-term solution at the more important position of RDE. Quinn is a good stop-gap solution, and I think he'll actually outperform Lawrence this coming season. It remains to be seen if Gregory will ever overcome his demons, but if he does, he's a good fit at RDE. So, it was worth the small extension the Cowboys gave him to lock him up for two more years, in case he finally reaches his potential. The option of resigning Quinn next year is also on the table. And there is the wildcard of Armstrong, and even Kerry Hyder, who surprised people with a good showing before his injury and coaching change in Detroit. The Cowboys have done enough to move the DE position out of the "NEED" column. They will need to revisit the situation next year.
Charlton is not suited to play RDE. He doesn't have the body style, speed or skill set to be a weak side pass rusher going up against the top Left Tackles in the NFL. It is Charlton's bad luck that Lawrence had a breakout season in 2017, followed up by a really good 2018 season. So Charlton is doomed to be the backup to Lawrence, and unless there is an injury, Charlton is not going to get the chance in Dallas to prove his worth.
There was nothing wrong with the Cowboys using a late first round pick on a strong side DE in 2017. You don't typically get elite pass rushers in the bottom of the first round. So the Cowboys settled for a journeyman type player. But Lawrence has blown that up for Charlton. He's destined to be perceived as a bust in Dallas, even if he leaves and has a productive career for another team - kind of like Martellus Bennett, who was stuck behind Witten.
I still think Charlton was a reasonable pick, given the career path of Lawrence at the time the Cowboys made their 2017 first round selection. I choose to celebrate Lawrence finally achieving expectations rather than bemoan the failure of Charlton to beat him out. Lawrence was the 34th pick, while Charlton was the 28th pick. Not much difference, and Lawrence won the job. After Charlton's contract expires in 2020, I wish him luck with his next team.
The Cowboys need to determine who is the long-term solution at the more important position of RDE. Quinn is a good stop-gap solution, and I think he'll actually outperform Lawrence this coming season. It remains to be seen if Gregory will ever overcome his demons, but if he does, he's a good fit at RDE. So, it was worth the small extension the Cowboys gave him to lock him up for two more years, in case he finally reaches his potential. The option of resigning Quinn next year is also on the table. And there is the wildcard of Armstrong, and even Kerry Hyder, who surprised people with a good showing before his injury and coaching change in Detroit. The Cowboys have done enough to move the DE position out of the "NEED" column. They will need to revisit the situation next year.
