Taco Charlton Film Review: Can He Win On 3rd Downs?
Taco Charlton was brought in as a reclamation project in 2020. Taco had flashed before his injury. Now that he's back, what can he provide as a pass rusher to the Chiefs in 2021?
Every general manager has tendencies. Whether it’s a way he evaluates a certain position, money, trade, etc., each GM has a different way of building a team. One of the hallmarks of Brett Veach’s tenure is taking former 1st-round/top 50 picks and bringing them to Kansas City to try and repair their career.
Since 2017, we’ve seen Veach do this with Reggie Ragland, Cam Erving, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Mike Hughes this offseason. In 2020, Veach did this with Taco Charlton. Taco, a former 1st-round pick of the Cowboys in 2017, struggled to get on the field in his NFL career. A poor attitude and production led Dallas to cut him. Miami tried repairing Taco in 2019, but new additions to their defensive line led to them cutting Taco. Kansas City took the swing on talent in the 2020 offseason.
Things were going well for the Chiefs to start the season with Taco. Taco had two sacks, four QB hits, and six total pressures in his first seven games in only 90 snaps. Unfortunately, a gruesome ankle injury ended Taco’s season. The Chiefs brought him back on a one-year deal this offseason, presumably to help them rush the passer. Assuming he’s healthy, what signs did we see with Taco to give us confidence? Let’s dive into his tape.
Cross-Chop
Since going to Miami, Taco has added the cross-chop to his skill set, which is his favorite move. Brandon Thorn does a great job illustrating the cross-chop, but basically, it’s attacking the outside shoulder by using an inside fake step and chopping the outside arm to flatten the corner. Osi Umenyiora made a living off the cross-chop, and it’s effective for longer, explosive defensive ends. Taco fits that physical skillset, and he added it to his game.
Taco loves using that cross-chop to set up his plan around the corner, and with his length/explosiveness, he can beat tackles who like to punch with both hands. Taco still has a long way to go to developing a full rush plan, but he’s effective in attacking that outside shoulder with the cross-chop.
Inside Agility/Explosiveness
Taco doesn’t base an entire plan around his cross-chop, but there are building blocks from that. Taco used some inside counters in his pass-rush plan, particularly an inside spin to flush the pocket or just a euro slide inside. Taco’s explosiveness and quality agility allow him to counter tackles who set vertically. While he doesn’t turn all of those moves into pressures/sacks, he’s able to flush the pocket with his length and athleticism.
I would still love to see Taco add some semblance of a power game, but he’s able to attack the outside shoulder and mix it up with an inside counter. That’s encouraging to see for a rotational pass rusher.
Run Defense
Taco only played 90 snaps last year, particularly on 3rd down. So we didn’t see much from a run defense perspective, and the reps we did see were pretty inconsistent. Still, there were some positive reps, where Taco used his length well, and he did seem to work through trash pretty well. For Taco to get on the field more, he’s going to have to be a quality run defender, and there are traits and some reps to work with as a Chief.
Conclusion: What Are Expectations For Taco In 2021?
If you’re looking at weak spots on the Chiefs’ roster, cornerback and defensive end are glaring weaknesses. To speak about defensive end, the Chiefs are really thin. Frank Clark is highly paid and a star when he’s healthy, but we simply haven’t seen that consistently. Outside of Clark, the room is rookie Joshua Kaindoh, Mike Danna, Taco Charlton, and Tim Ward. Kaindoh isn’t likely a Year 1 option for the Chiefs, Ward hasn’t proven anything in the NFL, and Danna’s a limited athlete and a negative pass rusher.
That leaves Taco Charlton with a significant role for 2021. Someone has to step up and play a bunch of snaps, and Taco seems like the guy most prone to do that. He’s been a disappointment since coming into the league in 2017, but he’s the only option outside Clark with athleticism and experience off the edge.
Even with Chris Jones playing a larger role at DE in 2021, I would expect Taco to get a whole bunch of run at defensive end in 2021. We may not see him on many run defense downs, but once it gets to 3rd down and the Chiefs need to rush the passer, I think Taco will get the first chance to do that over Kaindoh, Danna, or Ward. Hopefully, Taco’s ready for that role because he potentially is very essential for the Chiefs to get any pressure in 2021.
A lot of Hype going with Jones to the outside. The Chiefs would be far better with Charlton stepping up and performing outside at least to the level of how he looked last year before being injured. That would be the potential to have a "Storied" DL with Depth presuming Ward and Danna outside and Nnadi and Wharton inside. Kaindoh might be the surprise in the mix but being readied for the future.