There haven’t been many words minced between Miami Dolphins defensive end Taco Charlton and his former team, the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys made Charlton a 1st-round pick as a member of the 2017 NFL Draft, a decision that has been hammered by Cowboys fans everywhere in seeing what another pass rusher from that class — T.J. Watt — has become for the Pittsburgh Steelers after going just a handful of selections later.
Things, obviously, didn’t work out between Charlton and Dallas — the Cowboys cut their 2017 1st-round pick a week ago and shortly afterwards, Jerry Jones offered some biting criticism of Charlton’s mentality as a football player.
“I’ve seen (Charlton) do a rep at practice. Saw it this year in training camp. And when he didn’t get there, he just wilted,” said Jones.
“It just looked like it impacted everything he was going to do for the rest of the practice.”
Charlton took to social media to bid farewell and say thanks to all his friends in Dallas — but to also to offer this message to Miami Dolphins fans:
Charlton isn’t a typical waiver-wire addition. He’s a former 1st-round pick who clearly has talent and fits a clear position of need for the Miami Dolphins. If Charlton is able to “turn things around”, the Dolphins would benefit greatly from their faith that all of Charlton’s untapped potential was lying dormant below the surface and not washed away completely after a few tough years in Dallas.
Charlton possesses length, a nifty spin move and can hopefully continue to build out his pass rush skill set while learning on the job here in Miami. The pressure of a Super Bowl run isn’t present — so Charlton can actually play and learn by doing on the gridiron for the Dolphins.
