The Atlanta Falcons need someone to complete their defensive line rotation after signing Dontari Poe to eat blockers in the middle. While an edge defender might be the best fit in Atlanta, Taco Charlton could be an even better fit.

Atlanta needs to take a long look at the Michigan graduate and see just how well he might fit in with their schemes.

Vidauntae “Taco” Charlton

Defensive Lineman

University of Michigan

Combine/Pro Day Measurements

Height: 6-foot-5-5/8” Weight: 277 pounds

Arm Length: 34-1/4” Hand Measurement: 9-3/4”

40 yard dash: 4.92 sec. 10 yard split: 1.70 sec.

20 yard shuttle: 4.39 sec. 3-cone Drill: 7.17 sec. Bench Reps: 25 reps

Vertical Jump: 33.0″ Broad Jump: 9-foot-8

Athletic Comparison: Tyrone Crawford, 2012, No. 81 overall pick out of Boise State

Stats

2016: 11 games played, 42 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, eight QB hurries, two pass deflections

2015: 13 games played, 30 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, three QB hurries, one fumble forced

2014: 12 games played, 19 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, three QB hurries

2013: 10 games played, two tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss

Highlights

Scouting Report

Strengths

When designing the prototype frame for a defensive end in the NFL, Charloton is straight out of the textbook. He’s a twitchy athlete with the ability to beat offensive linemen outside and force them off-balance by trying to prevent him from beating them with speed.

Charlton can also plant his foot in the turf and change directions quickly so that his first step isn’t wasted. He’s equally effective versus the run and the pass and can set the edge effectively on either the strong or weak side of the defense. He is also able to rush from either side of the field and can be effective in any technique from the three (B-gap defensive tackle alignment) to the nine (wide outside of a tight end’s shoulder).

Weaknesses

Most of all, Charlton’s functional strength needs to be improved.

He’s shown throughout his four years at Michigan that he can be targeted when he’s playing on the inside of the line and while he’s effective at times playing inside, he needs to become more consistent than he was in college.

Occasionally it seemed that he would need to be part of a rotation when he was in the pros. For some teams, this won’t be an issue, but if you are relying on him to play 80 percent of snaps on defense, he’s not going to be effective on all of them.

How does he fit the Comrade Filter?

Charlton has never been arrested or suspended while he was in college for the Wolverines. He wasn’t a captain, but he does exude the effort on the field that would pass the competitiveness metric for the Falcons.

It’s tough to question his toughness because he’s more than willing to stick his nose in there on every play and try and get to the ball carrier. When it comes to his athleticism, the Falcons would love to have him as long as he doesn’t lift his hand off of the turf.

Overview

Charlton is the kind of prospect teams would have had in the top 10 just five years ago. He’s an excellent all-around defensive end and can play in multiple roles in the 4-3, but with the rise of more 3-4 defenses and his inconsistent play as a 5-technique defensive end, he might wind up falling farther than teams would expect.

He is very similar to former New York Giants’ defensive end Michael Strahan in both his play and his build. NFL teams wouldn’t have much trouble finding the right role for him to become successful.

How he would fit into the Falcons’ plans

After the Falcons signed former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Jack Crawford, a player like Taco Charlton would normally not be of interest.

However, Charlton is a better pass rusher and would be able to compete with Brooks Reed for the starting LEO role in Atlanta’s base defense. He could also compete for a spot in the nickel early on, as he can rush from both sides of the field and would give the Falcons more flexibility.

With this selection Atlanta would instantly upgrade its defensive line and Charlton would have the ideal situation to transition to the NFL.