Taco's draft grades revisited

Outlaw Heroes said:

Why can't he play RE? He's not trying to win with speed so what's the difference if he's facing the better athlete on the right side? You can win with length and technique just as much on the weak side as you can on the strong side. If anything, I think you may have things upside-down. Guys that can rush the passer from the left side can probably do it from the right side two. You play them on the strong side because they have the size and strength to be able to hold up there.

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Perhaps I'm too dismissive of Marinelli's concept of going to a power mismatch in the absence of a speed rusher. It probably stems from my belief that they had a speed rusher on the table and passed on him for the "played defensive end and looks like a defensive end" option.

It's not good roster building to plan on having him play RE, but you're right, there's no reason he can't be as unimpressive on the right side as he is on the left side.

Verdammung said:

Perhaps I'm too dismissive of Marinelli's concept of going to a power mismatch in the absence of a speed rusher. It probably stems from my belief that they had a speed rusher on the table and passed on him for the "played defensive end and looks like a defensive end" option.

It's not good roster building to plan on having him play RE, but you're right, there's no reason he can't be as unimpressive on the right side as he is on the left side.

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I hated the way that first round fell for Dallas. I had a strong feeling that Taco wasn’t the highest rated player on their board at 28 but that they were kind of stuck having to take DE early because of need.

That’s why the team went out and signed Covington, Iloka, Hyder, Witten, Cobb, etc. in free agency. They didn’t want to be in that situation again.

With Taco, they had to have a DE and they went off the board early. I know they had some DB’s rated better at 28 but they decided to take the DB later because of the depth there in that draft.

I wasn’t crazy about Taco and really, wasn’t crazy about Watt, though it looks like I was wrong about him. I wanted Dallas to take Awuzie at 28. He was my guy.

The draft ended up ok for me because I loved Awuzie and Xavier Woods, and really likes Lewis. Getting all three salvaged that draft for me nicely.

I do think Dallas had Taco as their highest remaining DE on their board, but they shouldn’t have taken him and left other better players there. And just because Taco was the highest rated doesn’t mean that Dallas didn’t mis evaluate him in assigning his grade.

Something went wrong because he just doesn’t look good.

Maybe the light comes on for him this year... I hope it does, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for that.

I’m reviewing the 2017 CowboysZone Draft Day thread to get some reminders.

Already getting a kick out some here completely trashing Carolina for taking McCaffery.
“3rd down utility back”, “ worst pick of the draft”

Dude has been unbeleivable so far.

The KC trades up and everybody assume for Watson.
The take Mahomes and get obliterated on this forum


These old threads are interesting. And believe me, Ive said some dumb stuff too

Denim Chicken said:

There was no issue with where taco was drafted. He was a consensus #1 pick.

I still contend if Watt's last name was Smith, no one would have been pounding the table for him.

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I remember mocks that had Taco going to cincinnati and new orleans....both were picking in the top 15.
maybe RB Devin Cook shoulda been the pick.

conner01 said:

I feel tacos issue are not talent but attitude
He has the talent to be a decent player

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agreed.....100%.
Joe Jackson might take his spot.

charron said:

Looking at the list of DE drafted after taco only 1 guy had comparable stats through the 4th round. People still stuck on the fact late 1st round players are really not considered 1st round talent. They are 2nd round talent selected in the 1st.

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A very astute point.

cowboyec said:

agreed.....100%.
Joe Jackson might take his spot.

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Hopefully the light comes on for taco
Even if we let him walk on a second contract we need production now and it helps with a comp pick later
He needs to get his head and heart right

Toruk_Makto said:

How many times will people give up on a player too soon before deciding to let the process play itself out?

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Im very hesitant to trade Taco. Personally I think he is a good defensive lineman. If Gregory had stepped up, I believe would have been at least adequate as a full time RDE.

Secondly, what are you trading him for? The draft compensation you get for him is not going to be worth a player I feel can be a starting defensive. Trading him for a player that may shore up another position is a valid train of thought, but that is assuming such a trade is there to be made. Player for player deals arent very common

Taco was garbage after his name was announced......still is.

QuincyCarterEra said:

Edge rushers taken after Taco:
Watt- turned out good for Steelera
Tyus Bowser- 3.5 sacks 20 total tsckles
Ryan Anderson- 2 sacks 32 total tackles
DeMarcus Walker- 2 sacks 11 total tackles
Kpassagnon- 2 sacks 17 total tackles
Dawuane Smoot- 0 sacks 19 total tackles
Jordan Willis- 2 sacks 45 total tackles
Daeshon Hall- cut after being active one game
Tim Williams- 2 sacks 16 total tackles

Taco-4 sacks and 46 total tackles

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QCE where's my pet cat. Stop playin games.

Denim Chicken said:

He's not a failure. Hes probably the best pure rusher from that class.

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facts but he had injury history that already affected him last year.

BREAKING NEWS ALERT

Teams are saying they like their picks.

Hennessy_King said:

QCE where's my pet cat. Stop playin games.

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Didnt get all the way down to him. He's our communal pet.

QuincyCarterEra said:

Didnt get all the way down to him. He's our communal pet.

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I really wished Tredavious white fell to us that draft. If we took him then lawson in the 3rd. That would have been a crazy draft.

Denim Chicken said:

There was no issue with where taco was drafted. He was a consensus #1 pick.

I still contend if Watt's last name was Smith, no one would have been pounding the table for him.

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I don't agree with this at all Denim. Anybody who watched Watt play knew he could play. Wouldn't have mattered what his last name was with that tape IMO. The issue was that he could stand up, which was false, but that is why so many said he didn't fit, as I recall.

ABQCOWBOY said:

I don't agree with this at all Denim. Anybody who watched Watt play knew he could play. Wouldn't have mattered what his last name was with that tape IMO. The issue was that he could stand up, which was false, but that is why so many said he didn't fit, as I recall.

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Maybe. He only had one year of production in college, only two years on defense, and a nasty knee injury. It's almost impossible to find a draft profile of the guy that doesn't mention his brother. Ultimately, we will never know how he would have graded without the family connections, but they sure didn't hurt him.

Denim Chicken said:

Maybe. He only had one year of production in college, only two years on defense, and a nasty knee injury. It's almost impossible to find a draft profile of the guy that doesn't mention his brother. Ultimately, we will never know how he would have graded without the family connections, but they sure didn't hurt him.

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Well, as I said, anybody who watched him play, not read somebody else's draft profile, new he could play. He literally jumped out at you, off the screen. At least he did when I saw him.

I mean, I watched both of these guys in College. Both Big 10 guys, I saw one guy who was none stop motor, couldn't be blocked and I watched one guy who disappeared in games. To me, it was night and day but Cowboys saw it differently. As I said, I felt like it was really easy to see that Watt was the much better prospect.

Jake said:

As long as some are fawning over what "experts" have to say about the Cowboys draft, let's revisit our favorite first round pick of recent years - Taco! Lots of A- grades, highest graded first rounder in the division:

Taco in Dallas is too good to be true. He could be the transformational pass rusher the Cowboys need on that side of the ball. Huge need filled by arguably the second-best player at that position.

While Charlton is steady enough against the run that he can be trusted on early downs, Marinelli figures to unleash him most often bending the edge vs. the pass. This fills a need for Dallas, and at a good value.

One team told us early in the draft process that they regarded Taco Charlton as a top-10 prospect. That changed a bit throughout the spring, but Charlton still provides solid value at No. 28 overall.

The Cowboys really struggled to rush the passer last season, and Charlton will help draw double teams that will allow other Dallas pass rushers to have an easier route to the opposing quarterback.

Hmmm...looks like they may have been a bit off in their expectations. I guess there's something to the notion of waiting to see how a guy actually plays before deciding whether he can or not.

"Taco Charlton In Dallas Is Too Good To Be True."

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I just went to look at the final mock drafts of 4 prominent analysts
Where they had Taco going.....

• Mike Mayock...2nd round
• Mel Kiper...2nd round
• Todd McShay...2nd round
• Matt Miller...2nd round

I ended up finding a some lessor known guys that had Taco in the 1st round.
A couple even had him going as high as the Lions at 21.

Jake said:

Actually, it didn't take any longer to find than it did for you to type that dismissive drivel.

Those are from Fox Sports, ESPN, NFL.com, CBS Sports, and Sports Illustrated, among others. Amazingly, I didn't find anything from CowboyRoy.

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LOL.....All you had to do was go back and pull up the threads. Or you could just be a member here and read my overkill hatred of the pick and the player for the last 2 plus years.

Amazingly...........I was dead on. Taco is garbage.