Moments after being the second Wolverine drafted in the first round, going to Dallas with the No. 28 pick overall, defensive end Taco Charlton joined the media for a conference call.
He found it difficult to hide his elation at the opportunity to join one of the top franchises in sports. Forbes.com projects Charlton will receive a contract worth $10,041,800 with a $5,433,828 signing bonus.
“Dallas is right there to get to that championship, Super Bowl level,” he said. “They had a great regular season, and I think I can help them get to that level in the playoffs and do some great things.”
He’ll get his chance, excited, he said, to learn from defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli. Marinelli coached elite players Julius Peppers, one of Charlton’s favorite players growing up, and former Cowboy DeMarcus Ware, DallasCowboys.com noted, and Charlton hopes to follow in their footsteps.
“They were able to be in the league for 10-plus years and do it at a high level,” he said. “That’s something I aspire to be and aspire to do. I feel like I was a top-10, top-15 player, but I’m happy to be here in Dallas with a team and coaches that believe in me.
“Big players make big plays in big games. I’ve always been taught that. It always matter what you do in games, but when the game is on the line big players step up … I’m a guy that’s very versatile. If you really watch my tape you see that I can do a lot of different moves.”
Charlton believes he’s ready to contribute immediately, which the Cowboys will ask him to do. Charlton is a pass rusher first, and he believes he’s prepared to bring that ability and more in his rookie season.
“When you come from a big school, especially a school like Michigan with Coach [Jim] Harbaugh, you get coached by some of the best coaches and the competition is the best that you can ask for,” Charlton said. “The NFL’s a jump, but when you’re going against the best guys in college you kind of know what it feels like to go against the best in the NFL.
“[Harbaugh] kind of ran everything like an NFL-type team the way we did it in college with ll the practices and the intensity behind everything. He’s an intense coach, and he definitely brought that atmosphere and definitely prepared us for what we’re going to get at the next level.”
That could be a Super Bowl with the Cowboys, perhaps sooner than later.
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