Well, the Cowboys had their first-round draft pick on Thursday night and here is who they choose:
Name: Taco Charlton
Position: Defensive End
College: Michigan
Height/Weight: 6-6/277
Who is he exactly?
Charlton is considered to be one of the most talented pass rushers this year. He already made some accomplishments including a full-time starter at Michigan as a senior and made first-team All-Big Ten with 9.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss. He also managed to improve his quarterback sack totals throughout all four seasons in college. From none in 10 games as a freshman, 3.5 in 12 games (one start) as a sophomore, 5.5 in 13 games (three starts) as a junior, and a team-high 9.5 in 11 starts as a senior which is just magnificent.
Will he fit in?
As of now Charlton has a real chance of stepping in the defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli’s rotation, but he will not be alone there, some of the other young defensive ends such as DeMarcus Lawrence, Benson Mayowa, and last year’s fourth-round pick Charles Tapper will join him as well. If you recall last season was the one where Cowboys managed to reach their highest sack total (36) since 2011, and since then they concluded they definitely need more pressure especially now when their two key players Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford coming off the offseason surgery.
Cowboys’ alternatives
There was a general opinion in the beginning that the team will most definitely target a pass rusher or cornerback with their first pick and that’s what they did, but they also had some other prospects on the table for the No. 28 like Wisconsin linebacker/defensive end T.J. Watt, Michigan State defensive end/tackle Malik McDowell, Houston defensive end Tyus Bowser and Washington cornerback Kevin King. All of them were considered to be potential late first or early second rounders, at least according to outside draft observers, but Cowboys turned out to be somewhat unpredictable as they went with Charlton instead.
