Was Taco Charlton the smartest move the Cowboys made this off-season?

[combineengineer]

The smartest move we made in this offseason is it appears we didn't repeat some of our past crippling mistakes of previous years. Specifically:

- no trading away future draft capital to move up a few spots because we feel we are truly '1 player away'
- No overpaying aging FA's. We let many of our JAG guys walk
- No drafting of a player with a currently known availability risk (health, attitude, etc)
- No second round gamble (TE, Gregory, etc)
- No disregard for the defense with premium picks

Hopefully this is a sign we are learning. Time will tell I guess.

 

[xwalker]

I would have taken either Reuben Foster or Ryan Ramczyk in the first

or even Tyus Bowser with a trade back

then Tarell Basham

Claiborne didn't go around telling the world he scored a 4 on the Wonderlic.

Why would you tell the world this mess?

 

[xwalker]

I think passing on Foster was an endorsement of faith in Jaylon. A healthy Jaylon > Foster.

Jaylon on 1 leg >> Foster

 

[bodi]

Jaylon on 1 leg >> Foster

when he was healthy - well see - he has not played a down yet - will he ever a goof question ? no

 

[xwalker]

when he was healthy - well see - he has not played a down yet - will he ever a goof question ? no

Are there any highlights of Foster in coverage?

Bradie James would have been All-Pro if stopping the run was the only requirement of a LB.

Bruce Carter has the athletic ability to be All-Pro in coverage but he was not smart/instinctive enough for that to happen. I just don't see Foster as smarter or more instinctive than Bruce Carter. Maybe they'll find a way to make it easy for him in the scheme, but in some schemes he would probably be off the field on coverage downs.

 

[sbark]

I think with Taco, they at least went with the Jimmy Johnson theory of getting a NFL player for 10 years. When he drafted R.Maryland in the mid 90's overall #1 that was his approach after Rocket Ismael took off for Canada. JJ had traded up for the #1 presumeably to take Ismael....the fall back was a productive decade long player .........

heck...ultimately we could see Taco as a J.Hatcher clone at the 3 tech.......getting crowded there. Slide Malik to the1 tech---there he would command the double team, Inside push would be tremendous.

 

[big dog cowboy]

The smartest move we made in this offseason is it appears we didn't repeat some of our past crippling mistakes of previous years. Specifically:

- no trading away future draft capital to move up a few spots because we feel we are truly '1 player away'
- No overpaying aging FA's. We let many of our JAG guys walk
- No drafting of a player with a currently known availability risk (health, attitude, etc)
- No second round gamble (TE, Gregory, etc)
- No disregard for the defense with premium picks

Hopefully this is a sign we are learning. Time will tell I guess.

Great post!

 

[darthseinfeld]

As opposed to what is the question?

I think if Charlton turns into an annual 7-9 sack guy per season I'll be happy. I don't expect game changers at 28; it can happen, but it's not my expectation going in.

I don't look at Taco as the answer to our defensive line, but rather part of the solution that's going to continue to be addressed.

To me the big upside to Taco VS Takk is that Taco can play the 6, 7, and maybe even 8 gaps on both sides of the line and anchor well VS the run on run downs. Takk is probably only going to be an 8 and 9 gap rusher in the NFL. He is a guy who should be able to combine with many different types of rushers. One of the looks that we seemed to thrive with was Hardy at the 7 on the weak side and Lawrence at the 9 on the strong side. Taco at least right now isnt going to be the threat Hardy was, but he still allows you to line up in a similar alignment. I think he should be able to threaten to pull blockers away from the strong side

Takk with Beasley is an odd combo to me. There isnt alot of scheme versatility in Takk. You pretty much have to line him up in a wide alignment

 

[xwalker]

So they rue is starting on Taco now...give me a break....I am very glad they got Taco over Harris.
Now Harris may have some success as the Falcons have Beasley and a few others that need to be contended with too. We don't have any huge playmakers to pair Taco with...yet.
Now if Jaylon, teamed with Lee, and if DLaw or another can step up to be an impact, like they should, then we will see that type of effect.
Heck maybe outright, Taco will be better than Harris.

Taco may not be as quick or as fast as Harris, but he has the strength and size and that allows him to have different types of pass rush skills. Like just a good old fashioned over power the OL bull rush. Something that Harris can't do. He had 2 sacks in college using a bull rush, and that was probably against inferior talent. He is not going to get that same type of inferior talent in the NFL.

Taco had a better 10-yard, 3-cone (Pro Day) and short shuttle than Harris while outweighing him by 24 pounds.

Taco has long arms. Harris has short arms.

 

[xwalker]

http://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/201...ox-chidobe-awuzie-jourdan-lewis-xavier-woods/

The cap-crunched Dallas Cowboys didn’t have the financial flexibility to do much during free agency. Their little wiggle room against the cap led to the departures of several key defenders, including defensive backs Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne, Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox.

That stung, but the Cowboys’ draft priority still lay up front with their 13th-ranked pass rush. Which is why defensive end Taco Charlton’s name was called with the 28th overall pick.

Charlton is fresh off a season with 10 sacks and 13.5 tackles for a loss during his final year with the Michigan Wolverines. That production was fueled by his quick burst off the line of scrimmage and daunting length at 6’6″ and 277 pounds allowing him to turn the corner.”

Drafting Charlton was definitely a safe move by the Cowboys, but perhaps not their smartest.

Foster scored a 9 on the Wonderlic.

 

[xwalker]

I think with Taco, they at least went with the Jimmy Johnson theory of getting a NFL player for 10 years. When he drafted R.Maryland in the mid 90's overall #1 that was his approach after Rocket Ismael took off for Canada. JJ had traded up for the #1 presumeably to take Ismael....the fall back was a productive decade long player .........

heck...ultimately we could see Taco as a J.Hatcher clone at the 3 tech.......getting crowded there. Slide Malik to the1 tech---there he would command the double team, Inside push would be tremendous.

Maryland is a good example. They won Super Bowls with him which is the ultimate goal when drafting a player. GMs/coaches only care about what the player can do to help them win, not where that player will rank on a list of great players.

 

[CATCH17]

We should have traded up to get the pass rusher we really wanted.

Nothing elite enough to give up one or both of our corners.

 

[Idgit]

I think with Taco, they at least went with the Jimmy Johnson theory of getting a NFL player for 10 years. When he drafted R.Maryland in the mid 90's overall #1 that was his approach after Rocket Ismael took off for Canada. JJ had traded up for the #1 presumeably to take Ismael....the fall back was a productive decade long player .........

heck...ultimately we could see Taco as a J.Hatcher clone at the 3 tech.......getting crowded there. Slide Malik to the1 tech---there he would command the double team, Inside push would be tremendous.

Side note, but Maryland gets such a pass from Cowboys fans because the teams he was on won Superbowls. He ought to have been considered a huge gaffe by the team. Instead he flies under the radar where guy's like Ellis and Spencer get regularly and unreasonably lambasted.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Maryland did make a Pro Bowl

 

[Deep_Freeze]

The smartest move we made in this offseason is it appears we didn't repeat some of our past crippling mistakes of previous years. Specifically:

- no trading away future draft capital to move up a few spots because we feel we are truly '1 player away'
- No overpaying aging FA's. We let many of our JAG guys walk
- No drafting of a player with a currently known availability risk (health, attitude, etc)
- No second round gamble (TE, Gregory, etc)
- No disregard for the defense with premium picks

Hopefully this is a sign we are learning. Time will tell I guess.

Sounds good, we did trade away a 5th next year for Woods, although late in the draft. We also have a risk in Lewis, so he is a 3rd round gamble til his legal matters are straighten out. We have taken defensive players with 2nd round picks lately who were gambles, those are premium picks in my book.

We didn't really sign any FAs of note this year, but next year with more money available, I figure we will.

 

[xwalker]

Side note, but Maryland gets such a pass from Cowboys fans because the teams he was on won Superbowls. He ought to have been considered a huge gaffe by the team. Instead he flies under the radar where guy's like Ellis and Spencer get regularly and unreasonably lambasted.

How is that a gaffe. He was a starter on 3 Super Bowl teams. That does not happen if you're not a really good player.

That draft was not loaded like some others:

1991 Draft:
Russell Maryland
Eric Turner
Bruce Pickens
Mike Croel
Todd Lyght
Eric Swann
Charles McRae
Antone Davis
Stanley Richard
Herman Moore
Pat Harlow
Alvin Harper
Mike Pritchard
Leonard Russell
Huey Richardson
Dan McGwire
Bobby Wilson
Alfred Williams
Vinnie Clark
Kelvin Pritchett
Harvey Williams
Stan Thomas
Randal Hill
Todd Marinovich
Ted Washington
Henry Jones
Jarrod Bunch

1989 Draft:
Troy Aikman
Tony Mandarich
Barry Sanders
Derrick Thomas
Deion Sanders
Broderick Thomas
Tim Worley
Burt Grossman
Sammie Smith
Eric Hill
Donnell Woolford
Trace Armstrong
Eric Metcalf
Jeff Lageman
Andy Heck
Hart Lee Dykes
Joe Wolf
Brian Williams
Wayne Martin
Steve Atwater
Bill Hawkins
Andre Rison
David Williams
Tom Ricketts
Louis Oliver
Cleveland Gary
Shawn Collins
Keith DeLong
Steve Walsh
Timm Rosenbach
Bobby Humphrey

 

[jaybird]

http://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/201...ox-chidobe-awuzie-jourdan-lewis-xavier-woods/

The cap-crunched Dallas Cowboys didn’t have the financial flexibility to do much during free agency. Their little wiggle room against the cap led to the departures of several key defenders, including defensive backs Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne, Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox.

That stung, but the Cowboys’ draft priority still lay up front with their 13th-ranked pass rush. Which is why defensive end Taco Charlton’s name was called with the 28th overall pick.

Charlton is fresh off a season with 10 sacks and 13.5 tackles for a loss during his final year with the Michigan Wolverines. That production was fueled by his quick burst off the line of scrimmage and daunting length at 6’6″ and 277 pounds allowing him to turn the corner.”

Drafting Charlton was definitely a safe move by the Cowboys, but perhaps not their smartest.

Only time will tell, it could just as easy be thier dumbest move. Taco was procectef as a high second. We reached a tad for need.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Smartest move IMO was not taking King or Foster. King has a low floor to me and was too much a projection for what he could be to be a 1st round player. I thought he was a mid to late 2nd round player with upside. I dont think his play said first rounder to me, and he has real bust potential.

Foster had way too many questions for me

 

[ksadler1]

Remind me again of who the Patriots defensive "war daddy" has been this whole time during their SB runs? This is not about having one guy with skill that you over pay for. It's about having a team full of guys that play well together, and feed off of eachother, that don't put you in cap hell EVERY year.

The Pats go out a rent a guy for their system every couple years and then kick him to the curb before the cost gets too high. And they still have the cap to do pretty much whatever they need to. The Boyz are FINALLY learning this and if they stick with it they'll have a damn good team for many years to come. It's just too bad Jerry wasted the past 20+ years and Romo's career before figuring it out.....

 

[lukin2006]

I believe Taco played a good hunk of his last season at Michigan with a high ankle sprain...and really started coming on near the end of the season.