Following Frank Clark, New Chiefs DE Taco Charlton Looks for Fresh Start in Kansas City
A former college teammate leading the position group. A defensive coordinator looking for a particular type of player. A championship team needing a role player, not a savior. New Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Taco Charlton couldn't have asked for a much more perfect situation as he looks to rejuvenate his career in 2020.
Charlton, a former first-round pick out of the University of Michigan, has yet to live up to his first-round selection. The Dallas Cowboys cut bait after just two seasons. The Miami Dolphins claimed Charlton and ended that experiment after Charlton appeared in just 10 games for the team.
Now, after clearing waivers and being signed to a one-year deal with the Chiefs, Charlton said Kansas City was the perfect landing spot to get his arrow pointed back up.
"Yeah, it was a place I was looking forward to coming sort of right off waivers," Charlton told members of the media in a conference call on Wednesday "So, once I cleared, me and [Chiefs defensive end] Frank [Clark] were on the phone, we were talking. Like I said, that’s why nothing else 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 and feel like I could add myself to a good defense.”
Charlton is certainly being added to a good defense, but not one without holes, specifically at defensive end. Beyond Clark, the position is open for contributors. Former second-round picks Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon have had plenty of unanswered questions about their NFL potential, with Speaks missing the entire 2019 season due to injury. Alex Okafor, the veteran added last offseason, played 10 games before an injury ended his season as well. Emmanuel Ogbah, now a Miami Dolphin, was also added last offseason and produced before his own season-ending injury.
Charlton will, once again, have a chance to contribute in a major way. However, in his underwhelming three years in the league so far, expectations can differ wildly on what Charlton can contribute. Clark also spoke to the media on Wednesday and offered his own perspective on his former (and new) teammate.
“I feel like a lot of people are doubting Taco and for the first part of his career it hasn’t been to the standard that I’m sure he would want it to be," Clark said. "He’s had some great highlights and he’s done some good things in this league, but he has yet to do what I know he wants to do. Me and him being close friends we have a lot of talks and we talk about a lot of things and he’s been my bro since Michigan days. I spent a significant amount of time with him there. Actually, I call myself a leader and everything I’ve done. At Michigan I made a lot of mistakes but on that football field I did my share of leading those guys. One thing I did in that position room is change the way the position was being played, the rush in, and Taco followed suit. He listens and he does great things. I’m just excited. I’m excited to see what he’s going to do."
Clark continued to talk about what the future could become for Charlton, with Clark setting the pace similarly to how he led the group in college.
"Like I said, I want to turn him into a legend," Clark said, referencing this tweet from after the Chiefs signed Charlton. "First, just show him my work ethic. Show him how we do things with the Chiefs. It’s a certain standard that Coach Reid has us mounted to. There are certain things that you have to be able to live up to here. We’re the champs. We’re defending our ring and there’s going to be some standards that he has to live up to coming into that room.”
Charlton seems ready to learn behind Clark, as he looked back on their relationship, dating back to their days at Michigan.
“Me and Frank, we’re real close," Charlton said. "Like my brother, like my big brother. He’s a person who at Michigan, he kind of took me under his wing and guided me. We continue that friendship and brotherhood whenever he left. We talk all the time. When I come to LA, I’m usually with him, or I go see him, link up with him, whatever it may be. We try to train with each other sometime during the offseason, or see each other, whatever it may be. Our friendship, our brotherhood has always been there. We always used to joke around about us playing with each other again if me and him had the opportunity. So now we have the opportunity to play with each other again and do something special. I definitely was on board with that and like I said, I’m excited.”
