Cowboys 1-on-1: Taco Charlton - 'Whatever coaches want, I'll do' (But what do the coaches really think?)

Cowboys 1-on-1: Taco Charlton - 'Whatever coaches want, I'll do' (But what do the coaches really think?)

FRISCO - Taco Charlton experienced the finest performance of his three-year NFL career on Saturday in helping to drub the visiting Houston Texans, 34-0 at AT&T Stadium. And now he's ready for more.

"It took me a little bit to get back into it,'' Taco tells me, "but I'm getting back into the groove of things.''

Does the fact that the Cowboys’ first-round pick of a few years ago offered up this effort in "just'' a preseason game mean less? Not when you are trying to build confidence in yourself ... and not when you are trying to earn confidence from your coaching staff.

On Saturday night, Taco found himself getting the start at right defensive end. That's nothing especially new; he had a starting role to begin the 2018 season, too, but injuries and other issues prevented him from hanging onto that job.

This time? He sacked Houston QB Deshaun Watson early and recovered the ensuing fumble to set up the Cowboys’ first touchdown of the evening.

“I forced it, so I wanted it,” Charlton said of the loose ball. “I saw a couple people miss it, so I wasn’t going to miss my opportunity.”

Then came more opportunities. Charlton, in total, filled the boxscore with three tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, a batted-down pass and the one fumble recovery.

“I’m willing and ready to play whenever,” Charlton told the media. “Just happy to be out here with my boys, playing the game I love to play.”

Eventually, we'll get to Week 1 of the regular season and DeMarcus Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford will be the healthy first-teamers. But there is a place for Taco, too, especially if he keeps his motivation, and his numbers, pointing up. Does this guarantee him a rotational role? No, in fact it doesn't even guarantee him a roster spot, despite the guaranteed money Dallas would eat if it cuts him. I bet privately the coaches have on-the-bubble conversations about him and I bet privately the front office will entertain trade ideas, as we reported was the case during NFL Drat weekend.

But Taco can keep all of that at bay by really, truly meaning what he says when he states a desire to please his Cowboys coaches.