FRISCO - Taco Charlton experienced his share of struggles during his rookie season. In 16 games, the first-round pick finished with three sacks, 19 tackles and one forced fumble.

Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence recently took some of the blame.

"I feel like Taco had a pretty good rookie season," Lawrence said. "You all take away the light that he was playing behind me so it wasn't like he could get as many reps as he needed. This year I feel like he's going to come along and take you all by storm."

Lawrence had a breakout year in 2017, totaling 14.5 sacks, tied for second most in the NFL.

Charlton, who should see increased playing time in his second season, could benefit from some of the double teams coming Lawrence's way.

During the first two weeks of OTAs, Charlton has worked with the first-team when Lawrence has been given a veteran day off.

"The beginning wasn't as good as I wanted it to go, but at the end I started to hit my stride," Charlton said of his rookie season. "It's starting to all come together. The season had to end, which was bad for me because I really started to get in my groove. Now I can start fresh, and really think I can have an impact and help this team win games."

Charlton's optimistic outlook extends to the team's entire defensive line group, which has recently added veterans Kony Ealy and Jihad Ward and fourth-round pick Dorance Armstrong.

The unit hasn't caught Dallas' loaded O-line in terms of talent, but Charlton thinks the gap is closing.

"I think we'll do some great things," Charlton said. "We're young, but I think we're talented and ready to go. We're all hungry out there. We all have something to prove. When you got some hungry wolves, they're ready to hunt."