Now on third team as a former first-rounder, Chiefs’ Taco Charlton eyes rebound in KC
Taco Charlton’s career hasn’t quite lived up to his lofty first-round draft status since he entered the league in 2017 out of Michigan as the 28th overall pick with the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys waived the defensive end just two weeks into the 2019 regular season, and the Miami Dolphins claimed him on Sept. 19. But the Dolphins also waived Charlton, on April 30, clearing a path for the Chiefs to sign him to a one-year deal with a base salary of $825,000.
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for Charlton, to be sure, but he doesn’t dwell on what happened at his last two stops. Now on his third team in four years, the once-highly touted prospect looks forward to turning the page with head coach Andy Reid and the Super Bowl champions in Kansas City.
“It didn’t work out, the situations whatever it may have been, different reasons for different situations,” Charlton said of his stops in Dallas and Miami during a Zoom call. “But in both situations, I’m here now and I’m looking forward to my future here as a Kansas City Chief and what I can bring here to this defense.”
What Charlton, who turns 26 on Nov. 7, offers is a talented pass rusher with untapped potential, and a signing that sets up an ideal low-risk/high-reward scenario for the Chiefs.
In Charlton, the Chiefs have a player who totaled 10 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss in his final college season. As a pro, the 6-foot-6, 270-pound defensive lineman has appeared in 37 games with 12 starts, producing 67 tackles, nine sacks and 16 quarterback hits.
Charlton understands his one-year deal in Kansas City is an opportunity to jump-start a thus-far underwhelming career.
“It’s definitely a chance for a year for me to prove myself and prove what I can still do on the field,” he said. “I’m still confident in my ability. I just feel like with the right scheme I can definitely show the right talent.”
His decision to sign with Kansas City was an easy one. Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark mentored him during their time at Michigan. After making it through waivers unclaimed, a phone call between the two friends sold Charlton on the Chiefs.
“Once I cleared, Frank was on the phone and we were talking,” Charlton said. “That’s when nothing else really mattered to me, money-wise, nothing really mattered. I just wanted to play football, wanted to go to a good situation where I could play some good football. I feel like I could add myself to a good defense.”
Convincing his friend to came naturally to Clark.
“He hasn’t done what I know he wants to do,” Clark said Wednesday. “Me and him being close friends, we have a lot of talks. We talk about a lot of things; (he’s) been my bro since our Michigan days.
“I spent a significant amount of time with him there. … I’m just excited, man. I’m excited to see what he’s going to do. Like I said, I want to turn him into a legend. First, just show him my work ethic, show him how we do things with the Chiefs.”
Charlton said the opportunity to reunite and play on the same team as Clark was highly appealing. The newest Chiefs defensive end said conversations he had with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and defensive line coach Brandan Daly after signing further supported his decision.
“I was all comfortable with coming here and I’m excited to see what I can bring here to Kansas City,” Charlton said.
How Spagnuolo and Daly plan to utilize Charlton is an unknown for now. But Charlton figures to bolster Kansas City’s edge rush alongside Clark, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Alex Okafor, Demone Harris, Breeland Speaks, Tim Ward and rookie Mike Danna, another Michigan product the Chiefs selected in the fifth round of this year’s draft.
Clark said the structure is in place for Charlton to shine and finally show his potential.
“I feel like just with these simple things that Taco gets into his system, let alone the competition level he’s going to be able to go against every day,” Clark said. “You got myself, you got Alex Okafor, you got new guys coming in, you got some veteran leadership.”
With those previous stops in Dallas and Miami behind him, Charlton is eager to help the Chiefs in their bid to repeat as Super Bowl champs.
“My foot’s on the gas for this one, all effort,” Charlton said. “Not saying I didn’t give my full effort everywhere I’ve been, all situations ... things came to a head. It was kind of mutual in both situations, so it really wasn’t much of a surprise at either or.
“God led me here and I feel like this is best situation for me to succeed.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Now on third team as a former first-rounder, Chiefs’ Taco Charlton eyes rebound in KC."
