Taco Charlton can revive career with Kansas City Chiefs

By Leigh Oleszczak | May 24, 2020

MIAMI, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 29: Taco Charlton #98 of the Miami Dolphins in action in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Hard Rock Stadium on September 29, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

The Kansas City Chiefs landed Taco Charlton in free agency this offseason and the hope is that the former first round pick can revive his career with the Super Bowl champions.

Ever since Brett Veach became the General Manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, it’s become a trend for him to bring in apparent “washed up” first round picks from other teams and see if they can revive their careers in Kansas City.

Some recent examples of this are Cameron Erving, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Reggie Ragland all of whom contributed to the Chiefs at some point during their time in town despite not really panning out for the team who took them in the first round. Taco Charlton is the next in line to try and prove that a change of scenery is all he needs to find that spark.

Charlton was a first round pick by the Cowboys in 2017 and spent two years there before getting traded to the Dolphins for the 2019 season. After just a year in Miami, Charlton was given up on once again and now is hoping that third time truly is a charm.

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The Chiefs have talent at the defensive end spot with Frank Clark leading the way and players like Alex Okafor, Tanoh Kpassagnon, and Breeland Speaks providing additional help. That takes pressure off of Charlton when it comes to being “the guy” in Kansas City.

Part of why Charlton might not have been able to live up to the lofty expectations of his previous two teams is because those teams needed him to step into more of a starting role. That won’t be what the Chiefs expect from Charlton.

There’s potential there with Charlton for sure and the Chiefs will look to do whatever they can to get that potential out of him. Steve Spagnulo was able to do nice things with Kpassagnon this past year after he had disappointed in his first two years, so hopefully the same will happen with Charlton.

The Chiefs only have Taco Charlton under contract for 2020, so if he has a good season, the chances of him splitting for more money is very possible. That’s a bridge we’ll cross to when we get to it though. The hope is that Charlton can come in, provide a nice rotational piece for Kansas City, and keep their defense as one of the top units in the league.

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What expectations do you have for Taco Charlton in 2020?

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