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Dallas Cowboys: 2017 Rookie Review

By Stephen Forsha

Dallas Cowboys (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Dallas Cowboys (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 12: Taco Charlton #97 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates his sack of quaterback Sean Mannion #13 of the Los Angeles Rams during the preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 12: Taco Charlton #97 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates his sack of quaterback Sean Mannion #13 of the Los Angeles Rams during the preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Taco Charlton, DE

The first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys, Taco Charlton totaled 19 tackles, three sacks and one forced fumble in his debut season in the NFL after being the 28th overall pick in last year’s NFL Draft.

Charlton gained his first sack of the season in Week 8 against the Kansas City Chiefs, and from there had a sack in Week 12 vs. the Washington Redskins and in Week 15 his final sack of the season came against the Seattle Seahawks.

The 23-year old Charlton — drafted from the University of Michigan — may have not had the numbers expected of him for being such a high draft pick in his rookie season, but like with Awuzie, it took some time this season for Charlton to not only get accustomed to the NFL game, but to get the time on the field to make his mark on the roster.

Kate Hairopoulos of SportsDay.DallasNews noted that, “Eight of his 11 quarterback pressures came in the final four games” regarding Charlton, and that shows that he was gaining improvement with the more time he had on the field.

From Week 10 to the end of the regular season Charlton totaled 12 of his 19 total tackles, including his Week 10 showing against the Philadelphia Eagles where he collected four tackles. In Week 15 against the Seattle Seahawks, Charlton had two tackles and a sack.

Sometimes it takes rookie defensive ends more time than other spots to become really accustomed to the NFL, and once Charlton gains more experience in the NFL, his rookie season will just be seen as a foundation to something more special as he continues to put in the work for the Cowboys.

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