Taco's draft grades revisited

[Jarv]

The problem with Watt was that he was coming off an injury, felt that maybe he was injury prone...at the time.

 

[Jumbo075]

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

It's always amazing that players that don't perform have "attitude" issues, but players with the exact same attitude that do perform are admired.

 

[Pantone282C]

He thinks he's a star. Wants to show off that stupid sack celebration.

Some players egos become much more developed than their skills.

 

[conner01]

It's always amazing that players that don't perform have "attitude" issues, but players with the exact same attitude that do perform are admired.

Attitude can be good or bad. If attitude motivates you, that’s great. If attitude prevents you from growing as a player, that’s bad

 

[Verdict]

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."

Well several of us were not all that high on Taco.

 

[JD_KaPow]

Football Outsiders' "SackSEER" projection system for edge rushers hated Taco. Here's their pre-draft write-up:

Taco Charlton, Michigan
SackSEER Projection: 20.8 Sacks Through Year 5
SackSEER Rating: 47.3%

Taco Charlton is widely recognized as a "one-hit-wonder" who was dominant for the Michigan Wolverines in his senior season, but could barely crack the lineup during the first three seasons of his college career. Scouts are likely intrigued by the prospect of combining Charlton's ideal size (6-foot-6, 273 pounds) with the pass-rushing production he displayed as a senior.

SackSEER is highly skeptical of players who are one-hit wonders, especially those who break out during their senior seasons. College football players are more experienced and developed as seniors than at any point in their careers, and are often lined up against less experienced and developed sophomores and juniors. This advantage is completely reversed when those senior players are drafted and become NFL rookies. Indeed, history suggests that many of the players who dramatically overperform as seniors may have simply had a lucky season or are naturally inconsistent -- neither of which bodes well for Charlton's prospects.

Charlton's case is eerily similar to 2003 Bears first-round pick Michael Haynes, who was an even more extreme example of a late bloomer. Haynes had only four sacks as a junior player, but recorded an amazing 15 sacks as a senior. Haynes tipped the scales at 281 pounds, teasing scouts with his potential to combine great pass-rushing with ideal run-stopping size. However, Haynes also fared poorly in pre-draft workouts. Haynes ran the 40-yard dash in 4.87 seconds, recorded a below-average 30.5-inch vertical leap, and broad-jumped only 9 feet, 1 inch. Given Haynes' pedestrian first three seasons, and a combine performance that corroborated the less impressive section of his career, scouts should have realized that Haynes was simply not a first-round talent.

Similarly, Charlton ran the 40-yard dash in 4.92 seconds, even slower than Haynes. Charlton performed better than Haynes on the vertical leap and the broad jump, but he was still below average on both for a drafted edge rusher, let alone a possible first-round pick. To top it off, Charlton recorded only two passes defensed while at Michigan. Considering all of the evidence, Charlton provides several pieces of evidence suggesting that he may be a bust (his freshman season, his sophomore season, his junior season, his poor combine performance, and his poor passes defensed rate) and only one piece of evidence that he may be a success (a strong breakout senior season).

Other prospects have certainly overcome these challenges before. Tamba Hali in particular had a late breakout season and below-average workout numbers, yet became a star. However, for every Hali there are three players like Michael Haynes, making Charlton an extremely risky play in the first round.