2017 NFL Draft Grades: Mel Kiper Is Hung Up On The Value Of Drafting Taco Charlton At 28

[Stash]

That's it for me. If I would have been running things and decided to go CB in round 1, I would have taken Awuzie. Then, I would have just ended up with a lesser player than Taco at pick 60.

So, it would have been Awuzie and maybe Bowser/Rivers or do what Dallas did and have Charlton and Awuzie.

Dallas unquestionably did the right thing.

I still can't get over how these players being available so completely aligned with the Cowboys' needs.

From Awuzie at the end of round 2, to Jourdan Lewis still being there at the end of round 3, to Xavier Woods still being there in the 6th and Dallas being able to trade up. Just an amazing set of circumstances coming together in my opinion.

 

[AsthmaField]

I still can't get over how these players being available so completely aligned with the Cowboys' needs.

From Awuzie at the end of round 2, to Jourdan Lewis still being there at the end of round 3, to Xavier Woods still being there in the 6th and Dallas being able to trade up. Just an amazing set of circumstances coming together in my opinion.

Indeed. Those three guys were among my very favorite DB's in the entire draft.

 

[tyke1doe]

Yes, Dallas needed an end after DeMarcus Lawrence underwhelmed last season and Randy Gregory was suspended for at least the 2017 season, but a premier pass-rusher made more sense. I don't think that's Charlton, who is No. 46 on my board.

So who did Mel consider a "premier pass-rusher" at pick #28?
Watt would have been a situational pass rusher in our scheme and cannot play the run like Charlton can. And Watt isn't a three-down lineman.
I also don't see how passing on Kenny King is a big miss when this draft was deep in secondary talent.
But we will see this year and three years down the road.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Quite honestly there is an argument that Kiper is right. We could have drafted a top tier CB I the first round and still drafted a pass rusher with probably a second round grade in the second. No one knows what the relative values would have been, but probably close.

Keep in mind we didn't get a single player out of this draft with a first round grade. That's by our own admission. It's not the end of the world, but I think you guys are letting last years draft cloud your judgment a little bit.

I also think you guys are letting the fact we drafted for need cloud your judgment as well. Every year we have drafted for need it has blown up in our faces because we have drafted way too many misses. The only thing that may have saved us this year is that need semi-lined up with the draft.


I really think we reached on Taco. I hope he turns out to be all that and a bag of chips, but we drafted a second round talent in the first round, by our own admission. I'm not sure that we should be doing high fives and victory laps just yet.

That's funny that now we drafted Taco people saying it was a reach when people had him top 10 and top 15 on most boards and most didn't think we would have a chance to get him without a trade up. Barnett was said to most likely be available to us and Philly grabbed him.

Most people said Frederick was a reach too. If Taco becomes a 3 time probowler and 2 time all pro his first 3 years I will gladly reach for Taco every draft.

I think Taco will have a bigger impact and better rookie season then King. I bet Awuzie and Lewis also have a better rookie season

 

[CowboyRoy]

Mel Kiper of ESPN has posted his grades for the 2017 NFL draft, and he doesn't join the chorus of mostly positive feedback the Cowboys have received for their draft.

In his ranking of teams, Kiper has the Cowboys ranked 21st with a "B-" grade, which is due in large part to the value (or lack thereof) he places on Taco Charlton.

Here is part of what Kiper had to say about the Cowboys draft:

I thought they missed an opportunity at pick No. 28 to get a first-round talent -- Kevin King and Budda Baker were still on the board -- and instead chose Taco Charlton, a 6-foot-6, 277-pound defensive end who is a much better run defender than pass-rusher. Yes, Dallas needed an end after DeMarcus Lawrence underwhelmed last season and Randy Gregory was suspended for at least the 2017 season, but a premier pass-rusher made more sense. I don't think that's Charlton, who is No. 46 on my board.

Like many draft analysts who take their own big board as the one single gold standard, Kiper grades the pick relative to his own evaluation of each draft prospect, without considering either team needs, scheme fit, or the distribution of talent in the draft.

link/ http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2017...value-taco-charlton-at-28-kevin-king-t-j-watt

I dont really see what the big deal is with his evaluation. It basically mirrors what Dallas thought as well. They admitted they didnt have him as a first round talent. They also said there was one other guy that they passed on that WAS a first round talent. And apparently that was King, whom Kiper says was a better player at the time.

Look, this was a NEED draft 100%. Forget about BPA. We just were fortunate enough that DE and Corner was so deep it played right into that strategy. But make no mistake, they reached for Taco. He was a 100% need pick. Now I dont think it was a big reach, but they passed on better players because of need and position availability.

Im fine with it. But I am not one of these guys sitting here thinking we just got our war daddy. I think he can be an decent RDE, but has more upside at being a very good LDE. Will be great against the run with pass rush moves to get to the QB. And could possible slide inside on some passing downs. We NEED a war daddy at RDE and I just dont think this pick was it. Hard to do at 28. Not disappointed, just realistic.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

If we would have selected Butt in the 4th, we would have gotten an A+. He had us needing a DE, CB, TE, WR. He liked the Noah pick, thought it was good value. So we would have crossed all of his "t's".

Switzer is better then Butt not only that but Switzer is ready to practice this weekend and will be on the field ready to play......Butt won't be, not only that Butt would have been a reach as he was still available a round later

 

[AsthmaField]

I bet Awuzie and Lewis also have a better rookie season

I liked both Awuzie and Lewis better than King and the gap wasn't that narrow. The reason I liked both so much more than King is almost 100% about what goes on from the neck up. Both of them are Tough, smart as hell, instinctive guys who simply love to play football. I can't tell you how important I think that is to a DB.

The physical trait that those two have that I like better than King's is twitch. Both can click and close on the ball in the blink of an eye.

The only think about King that I liked better was his height... and you can't have the suddeness and change of direction that I covet with that king of length.

 

[bayeslife]

I still can't get over how these players being available so completely aligned with the Cowboys' needs.

From Awuzie at the end of round 2, to Jourdan Lewis still being there at the end of round 3, to Xavier Woods still being there in the 6th and Dallas being able to trade up. Just an amazing set of circumstances coming together in my opinion.

We should be counting our blessings that we happened to have subpar to mediocre DB players leave for FA in the same year of the deepest DB draft maybe ever.

The FA approach Dallas had looks genius now in hindsight knowing we have Awuzie Lewis and Woods.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I liked Willis as well. There is one guy that you might be able to look to and say, maybe that's the guy you take at 60. Tanoh Kpassagnon, but he went at 59. He has some very, very interesting skills. He is very raw but he has JPP type skills and even better size. That guy, if he turns out, could be dominating.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

Maybe I'm too old school, but I thought stopping the run was the top priority of the defense, especially the DL and LBs. So, I'm happy that Charlton's forte is stopping the run. Throw in a little sacking of the QB and I think we have a very good player. I see Charlton as a safe, solid pick. I don't expect spectacular sack stats from him. I would be a little disappointed in him if he isn't as good or better than Maelik Collins was as a rookie. My measuring stick/bar would be if he shows as much as Collins did as a rookie.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

I liked both Awuzie and Lewis better than King and the gap wasn't that narrow. The reason I liked both so much more than King is almost 100% about what goes on from the neck up. Both of them are Tough, smart as hell, instinctive guys who simply love to play football. I can't tell you how important I think that is to a DB.

The physical trait that those two have that I like better than King's is twitch. Both can click and close on the ball in the blink of an eye.

The only think about King that I liked better was his height... and you can't have the suddeness and change of direction that I covet with that king of length.

I agree, the size of King was the other thing I would say I wish Lewis and Awuzie had. That being said both them guys can get their hands on the ball even against taller receivers. Had Lewis been 6 foot he would have been drafted in the first

 

[Stash]

We should be counting our blessings that we happened to have subpar to mediocre DB players leave for FA in the same year of the deepest DB draft maybe ever.

The FA approach Dallas had looks genius now in hindsight knowing we have Awuzie Lewis and Woods.

It most certainly does. And I think it also helped by nit having the team's that did sign them competing with us during the draft.

In my honest opinion, the current coaching staff in Dallas helped make all of those players who departed look better and play better than they truly are. And I'm hopeful that they can do the same with the rookies.

 

[tyke1doe]

Here why you have to laugh at people like Kiper. I know Risen worships him as the godfather of mocks but even Kiper is prone to show idiocy from time to time.

On April 6th, he talked to the Atlanta Journal Constitution about the Falcons and said this:

So apparently, on April 6th, Charlton is a pass rusher that can possibly be had in the late first round and would fill a need for Atlanta at the 31st pick.

On April 28th, Charlton isn't really a pass rusher but is more of an edge-setting run defender and not a good pick for the Cowboys at 28.

Check and mate.

 

[tyke1doe]

"Charlton, to me, the way he played when he came back from missing those couple games, he was remarkable," Kiper said on a conference call today, at one point calling him the best rush end in the draft, a claim he later softened. "Finished it off strong against Florida State, as well. I have him at 19 -- he could very easily go earlier than that -- say, 7-to-12, 7-to-15 area."

Asked specifically whether Charlton could be a possibility for the Lions at No. 21, Kiper didn't think so.

"I could have put Charlton a little higher," Kiper said. "I don't think hell be there."

He said Cleveland is a possibility at No. 12 for Charlton but he didn't have him there in the mock draft because he has the Browns taking Texas A&M's Myles Garrett at the No. 1 overall pick. But if they went a different direction that could be a fit with the Pickerington, Ohio, native staying close to home.

In his mock draft writeup, Kiper noted Charlton's long arms.

"Charlton plays with good leverage for his height (6-5) and has active hands and an incredible wingspan. I'm curious what he'll measure at the combine. He can play on his feet, too, which means he could fit in a 4-3 or 3-4 scheme. The Bucs took Noah Spence in the second round last year, and he improved in their 4-3 as the season progressed (5.5 sacks). Charlton would be a great pick."


http://www.freep.com/story/sports/c...michigan-football-taco-charlton-nfl/96783686/

He goes for the three ... SWOOSH! Game over!

 

[tyke1doe]

Quite honestly there is an argument that Kiper is right. We could have drafted a top tier CB I the first round and still drafted a pass rusher with probably a second round grade in the second. No one knows what the relative values would have been, but probably close.

Keep in mind we didn't get a single player out of this draft with a first round grade. That's by our own admission. It's not the end of the world, but I think you guys are letting last years draft cloud your judgment a little bit.

I also think you guys are letting the fact we drafted for need cloud your judgment as well. Every year we have drafted for need it has blown up in our faces because we have drafted way too many misses. The only thing that may have saved us this year is that need semi-lined up with the draft.


I really think we reached on Taco. I hope he turns out to be all that and a bag of chips, but we drafted a second round talent in the first round, by our own admission. I'm not sure that we should be doing high fives and victory laps just yet.

It's not that Taco may not have had a first-round grade.
It's that the man who down grades for taking Charlton based on where we took him said earlier that Charlton would be worth taking higher and even said Atlanta (who originally picked 31) would be getting a pass rusher who would help their defense.

He's all over the board and gives the impression that he simply doesn't like Dallas' selection even though his own early observations support the very thing we did.

 

[DBOY3141]

Switzer is better then Butt not only that but Switzer is ready to practice this weekend and will be on the field ready to play......Butt won't be, not only that Butt would have been a reach as he was still available a round later

I'm fine with Switzer over Butt. Love the way the little guy plays. Seen lots of UNC games. he's a beast. hopefully he transfers to the NFL.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

I'm fine with Switzer over Butt. Love the way the little guy plays. Seen lots of UNC games. he's a beast. hopefully he transfers to the NFL.

He was one of the best against NFL talent. Can't remember the exact numbers but it's crazy

 

[CheapietheCheapskate]

Mel Kiper can kiss my rear end. Here is a man who has never worked for an NFL team and yet he talks as if the NFL and it's fans should give 2 cents about what he says or thinks.

 

[Bullflop]

I honestly believe there's a strong case to be made that Charlton's film of his senior year was flawed by the fact that he played the great majority of it with a high ankle sprain. The last 2 weeks, he came on like gangbusters and looked like a different player. It's been said many times that he has the best upside of any of the DEs. Granted, it also suggests he has considerable progress yet to be made but there's nothing that says he'll be unable to fulfill the idea that he holds great promise to improve significantly.

Anyhow, we're about to find out for ourselves soon enough just what he's capable of. He certainly has the size and the motor to offer us some encouragement for his development. At the very least, I'm reasonably confident that he'll turn out to be the best pass rusher in house, for whatever that's worth. Here's hoping he'll ultimately manage to fulfill his most ambitious goals. I do believe Marinelli will steer him in the right direction.

 

[DallasEast]

I honestly believe there's a strong case to be made that Charlton's film of his senior year was flawed by the fact that he played the great majority of it with a high ankle sprain. The last 2 weeks, he came on like gangbusters and looked like a different player. It's been said many times that he has the best upside of any of the DEs. Granted, it also suggests he has considerable progress yet to be made but there's nothing that says he'll be unable to fulfill the idea that he has promise to improve significantly.

Anyhow, we're about to find out for ourselves soon enough just what he's capable of. He certainly has the size and the motor to offer encouragement for his development. At the very least, I'm reasonably confident that he'll turn out to be the best pass rusher in house, for whatever that's worth. Here's hoping he'll ultimately fulfill his fondest intentions.

Mike Mayock and crew mentioned Charlton playing with the high ankle sprain a lot on NFL Network during the draft. That's a very relevant observation.

I stopped watching ESPN's draft coverage all together a few years ago.

Question for anyone who watched ESPN's coverage: Did Kiper & Company talk about Charlton playing through his injury? Just curious.