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Taco Charlton Will Be Michigan Football’s Sack Leader in 2016

By Chris Peterson

Nov 7, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive end Taco Charlton (33) celebrates after he sacks Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Hayden Rettig (11) in the fourth quarter at Michigan Stadium. Michigan won 46-16. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive end Taco Charlton (33) celebrates after he sacks Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Hayden Rettig (11) in the fourth quarter at Michigan Stadium. Michigan won 46-16. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Taco Charlton is just another Michigan football player set to have a big 2016 season for the Wolverines.

The Michigan football team might have one of the best defensive lines in college football this season and one reason why is the edge rushing of Taco Charlton.

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With Ryan Glasgow, Chris Wormley and Maurice Hurst, Michigan football is loaded up front. The Wolverines have four guys who can rush the passer and play the run. Charlton falls in that category.

Yet, he can also do things as well or better than any player on the Michigan roster and in terms of rushing the passer off the edge, no one on the team does it better.

Charlton’s impact has increased steadily over the past three seasons. As a freshman, he played in a few games, had two tackles and 0.5 TFL. Next, he saw action in nine games, registered 3.5 sacks and 5.5 TFL and last season, he played in 11 games, notched 5.5 sacks, 30 tackles and 8.5 TFL.

At 6-6 and weighing in at 270 pounds, Charlton has tremendous size and with his 4.8 time in the forty-yard dash, you can see why he is so quick to get around the edge. However, he can also hold his own at the point of attack.

Pro Football Focus, which recently ranked Charlton among its top 25 breakout candidates for the 2016 season, game him high marks in the both the running game and the passing game. PFF also noted his total of 55 pressures in 2016, which is an impressive number and shows how dominant he is as an edge rusher.

Here is the full passage from PFF on Charlton. The site also listed Glasgow as No. 3 on the list.

"“Yet another Michigan defensive linemen to highlight, Charlton was extremely productive on his 389 snaps last year,” PFF wrote. “He was solid against the run with a 79.2 mark, while his pass rushing took a huge step forward at 82.6. After compiling only 11 pressures on 120 rushes in 2014, Charlton notched (5.5) sacks, nine QB hits, and 26 hurries (41 total pressures) on 229 rushes last season. The Wolverines’ defensive line is top heavy with most of their returning talent at defensive tackle, and while Charlton is certainly not slight … he brings the best edge rushing dynamic on the team. Look for Charlton to play at least 600 snaps this season while continuing to develop into one of the nation’s best edge rushers.”"

Charlton will have an even bigger role this season than last and with his ability, he will have a chance to turn some heads in 2016.

Not only will be in line to be an All-Conference player this season, but he is a guy that is already on the NFL radar and if he can have as big a season as many think he can, he can catapult himself into being at least a Day 2 pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

With all the attention the rest of the defensive line will generate, Charlton should see plenty of one-on-one pass-rush opportunities and if can convert a few more pressures into sacks, I see little reason why he can’t break into double-digits.

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Charlton certainly isn’t the only Michigan defensive lineman in line for a big season, but the prediction here, is that when the 2016 season is over, no Wolverine will have more sacks than he does.

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