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Star Evaluation: Pivotal Year For Taco Charlton
https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/star-evaluation-pivotal-year-for-taco-charlton
What’s Been Good:* A first-round pick two years ago, Charlton has shown flashes as a down-to-down pass rusher, particularly in the first month of the 2018 season with a heavy snap count. He also made strides as run defender last season, tying for third on the team with four tackles for loss. “He, like a lot of players, is a work in progress. He’s still a developmental player,” head coach Jason Garrett said last week at the NFL Combine. “He’s done some good things. But he has to continue to take the next step.”
What’s Been Bad: Charlton suffered a shoulder injury in Week 9 against Tennessee and missed five of the next six games. The injury set him back in the rotation down the stretch and he played limited snaps in the Cowboys’ two playoff games. By the end of the season, Randy Gregory had stepped in as the primary rusher from the right side.
2018 Highlight: Charlton’s most productive game was a critical one: Week 2 against the Giants with Dallas trying to avoid an 0-2 hole. He got his first and only sack of the season when he dropped quarterback Eli Manning for a 10-yard loss, forcing a punt. In the third quarter, he recovered a fumble that led to a Cowboys score in an eventual 20-13 victory at AT&T Stadium.
What’s Next: At least for now, Gregory’s indefinite NFL suspension is a blow to the defensive line’s depth. (Gregory rotated with Charlton at right end last season and finished second on defense in sacks.) Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said last week it’s “not impossible” to think Gregory could be reinstated by Week 1, but at the moment, Charlton is the team’s most experienced full-time defensive end behind DeMarcus Lawrence. The Cowboys need him to take a step forward in 2019.
https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/star-evaluation-pivotal-year-for-taco-charlton
What’s Been Good:* A first-round pick two years ago, Charlton has shown flashes as a down-to-down pass rusher, particularly in the first month of the 2018 season with a heavy snap count. He also made strides as run defender last season, tying for third on the team with four tackles for loss. “He, like a lot of players, is a work in progress. He’s still a developmental player,” head coach Jason Garrett said last week at the NFL Combine. “He’s done some good things. But he has to continue to take the next step.”
What’s Been Bad: Charlton suffered a shoulder injury in Week 9 against Tennessee and missed five of the next six games. The injury set him back in the rotation down the stretch and he played limited snaps in the Cowboys’ two playoff games. By the end of the season, Randy Gregory had stepped in as the primary rusher from the right side.
2018 Highlight: Charlton’s most productive game was a critical one: Week 2 against the Giants with Dallas trying to avoid an 0-2 hole. He got his first and only sack of the season when he dropped quarterback Eli Manning for a 10-yard loss, forcing a punt. In the third quarter, he recovered a fumble that led to a Cowboys score in an eventual 20-13 victory at AT&T Stadium.
What’s Next: At least for now, Gregory’s indefinite NFL suspension is a blow to the defensive line’s depth. (Gregory rotated with Charlton at right end last season and finished second on defense in sacks.) Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said last week it’s “not impossible” to think Gregory could be reinstated by Week 1, but at the moment, Charlton is the team’s most experienced full-time defensive end behind DeMarcus Lawrence. The Cowboys need him to take a step forward in 2019.
