Taco Charlton

Vidauntae "Taco" Charlton (born November 7, 1994) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent.

As a true freshman in 2013, he appeared in 10 games as a backup defensive end, playing mostly on special teams, while compiling two defensive tackles (half for a loss).

As a sophomore in 2014, he appeared in 12 games with one start, making 19 tackles (5.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries.

As a junior in 2015, he was defensive end in a 3-4 defense, appearing in 13 games with three starts, while recording 30 tackles (8.5 for loss), 5.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.

As a senior in 2016, he became a starter at right defensive end in a 4-3 defense.

He suffered a high ankle sprain in the season opener and was forced to miss the next two games.

He returned in the fourth game against Penn State University, posting three tackles (two for loss) and 1.5 sacks.

He had three tackles and two sacks against Rutgers University.

He made nine tackles (three for loss) and 2.5 sacks against Ohio State University.

He finished with 43 tackles (13 for loss), two pass breakups and led the team with 9.5 sacks (tenth in school history).

He was also named to the All-Big Ten Conference defensive first-team, by both the coaches and media.

Coming out of Michigan, Charlton was projected by the majority of NFL draft experts and analysts to be a first round pick.

He received an invitation to the NFL combine and completed all required combine and positional drills.

He played college football at Michigan and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

He has also been a member of the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers

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Charlton was born at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center two months prematurely.

His nickname derived from the fact that to try to keep his mother from going into labor early, his grandmother would speak to her daughter's baby bump and tell him "you had best not make a run for the border", referencing the Taco Bell advertising slogan.

He attended Pickerington High School Central in Pickerington, Ohio.

He played as a defensive end, outside linebacker and tight end.

As a sophomore, he collected 35 tackles and 8 pass breakups.

As a senior, he was a two-way player, registering 116 tackles (24 for loss) and 19 sacks, while receiving Division I All-Ohio honors.

He committed to the University of Michigan to play college football as a four-star recruit.

In addition, Charlton also played basketball in high school alongside future NBA players Caris LeVert, Jae'Sean Tate and Javon Bess.

Charlton accepted a football scholarship from the University of Michigan.

On March 24, 2017, he attended Michigan's Pro Day, along with Jake Butt, Jabrill Peppers, Jehu Chesson, Jeremy Clark, Amara Darboh, Ben Gedeon, Ryan Glasgow, Lano Hill, Jourdan Lewis, Chris Wormley, De'Veon Smith, Channing Stribling, and seven other prospects.

He opted to run the 40 (4.86), 20 (2.80), and 10-yard dashes (1.63) again and was able to slightly cut times in all three while also running positional drills.

Among the team representatives and scouts from all 32 NFL teams that attended Michigan's highly publicized pro day were eight head coaches: Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers), Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals), Bill Belichick (New England Patriots), Todd Bowles (New York Jets), Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints), John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens), Mike Mularkey (Tennessee Titans), and Jim Caldwell (Detroit Lions).

He was ranked the sixth best edge rusher in the draft by Sports Illustrated, was ranked the sixth best defensive end by ESPN, and was ranked the seventh best edge rusher by Pro Football Focus.

Charlton was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round (28th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.

He was the seventh defensive end selected and the second of eleven players drafted from Michigan.

On May 11, 2017, the Cowboys signed Charlton to a four-year, $10.02 million contract that includes $7.73 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $5.43 million.

He competed with Benson Mayowa, Charles Tapper, and Damontre Moore throughout training camp for a backup defensive end position.

The coaching staff named Charlton the backup left defensive end behind DeMarcus Lawrence, who went on to have a breakout season and tied for second in the league with 14.5 sacks.

Charlton made his regular season debut in the Dallas Cowboys' season-opener against the New York Giants and finished without any statistic in the 19–3 victory.

The following game, he made his first career tackle during the Cowboys' 17–42 loss to the Denver Broncos.

He started the season slow, remaining a backup behind DeMarcus Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford.

He recorded his first career sack against the Kansas City Chiefs.

In the twelfth game against the Washington Redskins, he had two tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.

He played sparingly as a backup, appearing in 16 games, while posting 19 tackles (one for loss), one pass defended, one forced fumble, 11 quarterback hurries and three sacks, with two of them coming in the last nine games.