T.J. Watt Vs. Taco Charlton: McCarthy Weighs in On Cowboys Philosophy

T.J. Watt Vs. Taco Charlton in the 2017 NFL Draft Remains A Sore Issue For Dallas Cowboys Fans; New Coach Mike McCarthy Weighs in On A New Philosophy

The Dallas Cowboys entered the 2017 NFL Draft with a well-considered top-of-the-draft plan. They then executed that plan. Three years later, maybe it's not really the fault of defensive end Taco Charlton that he didn't live up to first-round billing.

Maybe, if you listen to new coach Mike McCarthy review a decision that cost Dallas a chance to draft the highly-productive T.J, Watt rather than Charlton, it was the fault of the plan.

"When you’re throwing away good players because they don’t fit your system, you got to take a hard look at your system,'' McCarthy told reporters, including the trusted The Athletic's Jon Machota, during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. "If the guy is a good football player, he can play for me.”

Here's how it went down:

*Then-defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli was a driving force inside The Star in believing that Watt - talented though he might be - was a "linebacker'' and not a "defensive end'' with the traits to play in Dallas' 4-3 defense.

*Scouting boss Will McClay checked off on that evaluation. To McClay's credit, he has volunteered to take all of the heat for the decision.

*Then-coach Jason Garrett also checked off on the eval, and took it a step beyond, suggesting the idea that taking an end "with traits'' in the first round and then finding cornerbacks later was wise because that draft was said to be short on the former but deep in the latter.

*That part of the plan, by the way, was executed just fine. Dallas took Taco Charlton with the 28th overall pick, and then in the next two rounds grabbed a pair of well-regarded corners in Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis.

"The Taco Combo Platter,'' we called it, and again, it was a well-considered and well-executed plan. ... Except for what was lost on those Cowboys: Taco's "traits'' shouldn't have been valued over a guy in Watt who was a superior college player and (probably) a superior pro prospect - regardless of height, weight or even position.

So Taco came to Dallas, struggled to get snaps, and eventually fell into Rod's doghouse, eventually being dumped by the Cowboys in 2019. (He had a solid season with the Miami Dolphins, for what it's worth). And two picks later T.J. went to the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he emerged from Week 1 in 2017 as a star. Watt is now considered one of the best defensive forces in the NFL.

“We’ve talked about this a lot,” McCarthy said. “It’s really on where do you put the players? From what they tell me, the way Rod formatted each position on where certain guys fit, it’s going to be different here ...

"Part of it is developing (young talent), because in Green Bay (McCarthy's former post), when you’re picking 26, 27, 28 (due to annual on-field success), you’re down there in the 20s every year, when you’re throwing away good players because they don’t fit your system, you got to take a hard look at your system. If the guy is a good football player, he can play for me.”

Owner Jerry Jones is applauding McCarthy's approach to get good players rather than ones who "fit.''

"In the draft, (we want) the best player that's sitting there, the very best player,'' Jones said. "one thing that Mike has basically emphasized with everybody is: 'I can change what I'm doing to the skills of the player if he's a player.'

"So he says, 'Get me the good player, and I'll put him to work in what he does best.'"

Jerry and the Cowboys make it sound so simple. Jerry and the Cowboys makes it sound so right. Jerry and the Cowboys make you wonder why they make it so complicated and so wrong in the "Taco vs. T.J. Debate.''