What began as a promising offseason and strong start to 2018 rapidly degraded for Taco Charlton.

The former first-round pick was locked in heading into Dallas Cowboys' training camp, shadowing defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence with the goal of making huge strides in his second year as an NFL pass rusher. The club loved what they saw, and rewarded him with 106 defensive snaps in the first two games — wherein he delivered six combined tackles (two for a loss), a pass break up and a sack on quarterback Eli Manning in Week 2. In that same contest, he'd recover a fumble in the third quarter that the Cowboys used to make it a two-touchdown deficit, going on to win and balance themselves at 1-1 on the young season.

As the season progressed, however, Charlton regressed — with part of the reason being an injured shoulder.

He'd go on to miss several games because of it and with 2018 now in the rearview, he joined Lawrence and defensive tackle Antwaun Woods as two defensive linemen having offseason surgery. He underwent the procedure on Thursday, Jan. 24 to fully repair his shoulder, giving him ample time to recover and be ready for the offseason program.

The injury wasn't the only thing reportedly holding him back though, with rumors of his attitude being the reason he was made inactive once he was healthy enough to play.

The Cowboys relegated him to the inactives list on more than one occasion before placing him back in the rotation to close out the season, and although head coach Jason Garrett framed the decision as injury-related — defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli carried a much more exasperated tone when discussing the situation. At this point, there's no denying attitude played a part in setting him back, but Charlton himself made it all the more confusing when he took to Twitter to proclaim he had a "perfectly fine shoulder" and that "nothing is wrong" following his short rehab stint.

Clearly there was something going on behind the scenes and, just as obviously, he was actually not perfectly fine — hence the need for surgery in January.

He's since gone on to — whether on purpose or unknowingly — drape himself in the persona of a villain on social media, as it relates to his back-and-forth with fans over the "Hot Boyz" moniker. For those unaware, it's the name of a 2000s rap group from New Orleans, and was adopted by Lawrence in 2018 to describe how fiery the Cowboys' defensive line would be. The moniker caught fire in the locker room, with members of the secondary and even linebacker Sean Lee asking to be a part of the movement.

Fans flocked to the name as well, which made it disheartening for them to see Charlton chastising what he felt was misuse of it. This means that, as it stands, he's not in good graces with the organization or the supporters thereof, having now positioned himself between a rock and a hard place. Clever and inconsequential nicknames aside though, things are truly heating up to critical mass for the former first-round pick in 2019.

Vice President of Player Personnel and resident talent guru Will McClay has hope for Charlton, but makes it painfully clear he's not going to babysit him or anyone else on the roster.

"I'm expecting Taco to strap on his pads, put on his helmet and go out there and compete every day to prove that he belongs on this roster," McClay told 103.3FM ESPN in Dallas following the NFL Draft. "The injury and all those things — he's going to have to overcome that and be available. I expect Taco to put his best foot forward and battle and compete for a spot, but you know what? We're not going to hold the train for anybody.

"If you want to compete and roll with us, here it is. Everybody is going to have that opportunity. I expect Taco to be a much better player and a much more productive player. He was turning the corner last year.

"Injuries happen, and all that other stuff. I expect him to go and battle and compete. If him or anybody else isn't willing to compete, hopefully we have enough stuff there to keep us strong throughout the process."

Now heading into the pivotal third year of his contract, one with a fifth-year option, Charlton will need to impress the Cowboys in a big way to secure his future with the team. It bodes well for him that — anomalies aside — most NFL pass rushers don't break out until Year 3, and he'll now be at 100% health as he works toward proving the value of his 28th-overall selection. What does not work in his favor are the recent offseason acquisitions across the defensive line, which include signing Christian Covington and Kerry Hyder out of the free agency pool before later trading for First-Team All-Pro edge rusher Robert Quinn.

Quinn will be the starting right defensive end by default and even if Randy Gregory isn't reinstated to start the season, Hyder is only two seasons removed from an eight-sack year with the Lions, and Tyrone Crawford is coming off of a 5.5-sack tally just last season. Moving Charlton inside might be an option, but he'll have to compete with Covington and others for snaps at 3-tech — led by a hungry Maliek Collins entering his contract year with the club. A consideration on spelling the newly-extended Lawrence will be placed on the table as well, but met with second-year talent Dorance Armstrong champing at the bit to get looks of his own in that role.

Toss in the selections of Trysten Hill (58th-overall), Joe Jackson (165th-overall) and Jalen Jelks (241st-overall), and the Cowboys are bursting at the seams with potential across their defensive line. No matter where the Cowboys place Charlton, there will be heavy competition for reps, and the team is still waiting for the Taco they ordered in 2017.

It's officially crunch time, and stepping up big is the only way he'll land extra cheese.