Taco Charlton’s pass rushing potential tempts another team after Chiefs release

Former Chiefs defensive end Taco Charlton has received his first free agent attention since being released by Kansas City in the preseason.

The Green Bay Packers had Charlton in for a tryout to start the week on Monday, per NFL reporter Tom Pelissero, which was the first known interest in the pass rusher in the open market since the Chiefs cut him loose along with veteran Will Parks to start the process to get down to the required 53 players. Charlton was among the first roster cuts for the Chiefs this preseason.

Charlton has been an interesting player for a lot of teams to consider given his obvious potential. Charlton’s length and overall size is already going to make a general manager pay attention (at 6’6, 270-275 lbs.), but he also showed the sort of burst and overall athleticism that can often translate into a high-end pass rusher at the highest level. It was all part of the package that made the Dallas Cowboys take him in the first round of the NFL Draft in 2017.

Taco Charlton has always projected the part of a productive pass rusher.

The downside to Charlton was that, even in college, he could never put it all together consistently and that’s been the issue for him in the NFL, too. The Cowboys had the most invested in him yet released him just shortly into his third season in the league. The Miami Dolphins tried him out and showed modest results but he failed to beat out competition the next season.

The Chiefs gave him consecutive one-year deals when an injury cost him more than half of his first season with the team. However, after re-signing with the team last spring, Charlton was beaten out by the competition in training camp as Mike Danna, Turk Wharton and Tim Ward had all made obvious strides forward. The Chiefs re-signing Alex Okafor also sealed Charlton’s fate.

Will he catch on with the Packers? No one knows, but the traits have always been there, a puzzle for some coaching staff to unlock. At this point, however, it’s hard to believe he will ever reach his potential in the National Football League.