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Dallas Cowboys 2017 Rookie Class: Midseason grades

By Steven Mullenax

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) /
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As we hit the halfway point of the season, let’s take a look at the Dallas Cowboys 2017 rookie class and grade their performance so far.

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) /

The Dallas Cowboys 2017 rookie class faced an uphill battle in their first season in the NFL. Not only were these young men having to adjust to a game full of the best football players in the world, they also had to live up to some unrealistic expectations.

The Cowboys 2016 rookie class has already hit legendary status. With names like quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott, linebacker Jaylon Smith, defensive tackle Maliek Collins and cornerback Anthony Brown drafted just last year, this new crop of rookies would have a difficult time living up to their predecessors’ lofty examples.

With the first half of their inaugural season in the books, we’ve taken the time to grade Dallas’ newest rookie class based on their performance so far.

TACO CHARLTON, DE. C. . 2017. First Round - 28th overall

There is likely no rookie in the entire Cowboys’ draft class under more scrutiny than Taco Charlton. Being the first round pick always comes with unrealistic expectations. Not everyone is going to lead the league in rushing their first season, like Ezekiel Elliott did in 2016. But the main difference here is that Zeke was the fourth overall selection. And Taco, the 28th.

Dallas even admitted to having a second round grade on Charlton. They knew Taco was raw when they drafted him and that it would take some time to get him up to speed. And that it has.

In fact, Charlton looks to be on a similar trajectory that former second round pick DeMarcus Lawrence was when he arrived in Dallas four years ago. But injuries stunted Lawrence’s growth. Hopefully, Taco develops much quicker.

Charlton did record his first NFL sack last Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. He hopes it the first of many, but only time will tell. Through eight games, Taco has recorded six total tackles, one pass defend and that single sack. He’s slowly improving with limited snaps, but I wouldn’t count on the 23-year old having a much bigger impact through the rest of his rookie season.

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