Once again, a mock draft has the Redskins taking a Michigan player, as SB Nation's Dan Kadar is pegging the Redskins to take Taco Charlton with the 17th-overall pick.
With the 2017 NFL offseason officially underway for all 32 NFL teams, mock drafts will come into the focus even more before the 2017 NFL Draft takes place in late April.
Over the last month, we've looked at various mock drafts with the same names circulating around the Washington Redskins' 17th-overall pick.
But there's a new name linked to the Redskins today, as SB Nation's Dan Kadar has the Redskins taking Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton with their first-round pick.
"There will be a lot of debate about whether Charlton or Michigan State's Malik McDowell make more sense for Washington," Kadar writes. "Both are scheme fits, but Charlton is coming off a more productive season and just barely gets the nod."
Additionally, Kadar has the Redskins taking Washington safety Budda Baker in the second round and Ohio State running back/wide receiver Curtis Samuel in the third round.
Charlton recently completed a four-year career at Michigan, as the Pickerington, Ohio, native collected 94 tackles (27.5 for loss) along with 18.5 sacks, two passes defensed and a fumble forced.
During his senior season in 2016, Charlton started 11 games and recorded a team-high 9.5 sacks. He was named a first-team All-Big Ten selection following the season.
In the Wolverines' final four games of the season, Charlton recorded 5.5 sacks including 2.5 in a narrow defeat at the hands of Ohio State.
Charlton appeared in a career-high 13 games as a junior in 2015, recording 30 tackles and 8.5 sacks. The 6-foot-6, 272 pounder recorded his first career multi-sack game against Penn State that year, as he took down Christian Hackenberg twice in a 28-16 victory.
During his first two seasons at Michigan, Charlton appeared in a combined 22 games and tallied 21 tackles.
According to his NFL.com draft profile, Charlton has a "rare combination of size, length and athletic traits as a rusher."
"Long-levered frame with athletic, knotted calves. Rare combination of size, length and athletic traits as a rusher. Long-levered frame with athletic, knotted calves. Brings freaky athletic traits to table and is still growing into his body. Flashes instant reaction time off snap and up the field thanks to his twitch. Has enough upfield juice to push offensive tackles into hasty retreat. Generates pop through speed-to-power element. Very good flexibility throughout. Able to sink and swerve around corner if he gets early lead in race to the edge. Possesses hip swivel combined with shoulder turn to slip and flip around the corner of an offensive tackle he's engaged with as a pass rusher. Rushes with forward lean that keeps his momentum downhill. Uses rip-and-stab move and an ominous spin move that could turn into a dominant rush trait in the NFL. Elongated lateral slides can open into sprint very quickly to chase run play bouncing outside. Length gives him a shot at dramatically increasing his play-making ability against the run. Hand usage is improving."
NFL.com's Lance Zierlein adds that Charlton's stock is improving as the NFL Draft inches closer.
"While his production coming out of college will be modest, he could become a substantially better player as a pro if he's committed to the weight room and willing to absorb coaching," Zierlein writes. "High-impact defensive end with all-pro potential is his ceiling. His floor is solid starter."
