Taco Charlton

Vidauntae "Taco" Charlton (born November 7, 1994) is an American professional football defensive end who is a free agent.

He has also been a member of the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, and San Francisco 49ers.

[1] His nickname derived from the fact that to try to keep his mother from going into labor early, his grandmother would speak to her daughter's baby bump and tell him "you had best not make a run for the border", referencing the Taco Bell advertising slogan.

As a senior, he was a two-way player, registering 116 tackles (24 for loss) and 19 sacks, while receiving Division I All-Ohio honors.

[4] In addition, Charlton also played basketball in high school alongside future NBA players Caris LeVert, Jae'Sean Tate and Javon Bess.

He finished with 43 tackles (13 for loss), two pass breakups and led the team with 9.5 sacks (tenth in school history).

[11][12] Coming out of Michigan, Charlton was projected by the majority of NFL draft experts and analysts to be a first round pick.

On March 24, 2017, he attended Michigan's Pro Day, along with Jake Butt, Jabrill Peppers, Jehu Chesson, Jeremy Clark, Amara Darboh, Ben Gedeon, Ryan Glasgow, Lano Hill, Jourdan Lewis, Chris Wormley, De'Veon Smith, Channing Stribling, and seven other prospects.

Among the team representatives and scouts from all 32 NFL teams that attended Michigan's highly publicized pro day were eight head coaches: Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers), Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals), Bill Belichick (New England Patriots), Todd Bowles (New York Jets), Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints), John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens), Mike Mularkey (Tennessee Titans), and Jim Caldwell (Detroit Lions).

[21] He competed with Benson Mayowa, Charles Tapper, and Damontre Moore throughout training camp for a backup defensive end position.

The coaching staff named Charlton the backup left defensive end behind DeMarcus Lawrence, who went on to have a breakout season and tied for second in the league with 14.5 sacks.

[22] Charlton made his regular season debut in the Dallas Cowboys' season-opener against the New York Giants and finished without any statistic in the 19–3 victory.

[31][32][33] In 2019, he entered training camp with his roster spot in jeopardy, even though Randy Gregory was suspended indefinitely and there were injuries among the defensive ends.

[34] In the preseason, his playing time increased by taking advantage of injuries to defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford and Robert Quinn.

[37] His tenure with the Cowboys was one of the shortest for a first-round draft choice in franchise history, that didn't involve a career-ending injury.

[40] In Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Charlton recorded six tackles and a sack on Philip Rivers in the 30–10 loss.

[43] On April 30, 2020, Charlton was waived, after facing competition from 5 new defensive ends, that the Dolphins acquired through free agency and the 2020 NFL draft.

[57][58] On November 16, 2022, the Chicago Bears signed Charlton off the New Orleans Saints practice squad to the active roster.