Dalvin Tomlinson

Dalvin Tomlinson

Tomlinson with the Giants in 2018
No. 94 – Cleveland Browns
Position:	Nose tackle
Personal information
Born:	(1994-02-28) February 28, 1994 (age 29) McDonough, Georgia, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	325 lb (147 kg)
Career information
High school:	Henry County (McDonough, Georgia)
College:	Alabama (2012–2016)
NFL Draft:	2017  / Round: 2 / Pick: 55
Career history
New York Giants (2017–2020) Minnesota Vikings (2021–2022) Cleveland Browns (2023–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
PFWA All-Rookie Team (2017) CFP national champion (2015) BCS national champion (2012)
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Tackles: 277 Sacks: 13.5 Forced fumbles: 3 Fumble recoveries: 2 Pass deflections: 7
Player stats at NFL.com  ·  PFR

Dalvin Tomlinson (born February 28, 1994) is an American football nose tackle for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama. He was selected by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft, and played for the team from 2017 to 2020.

High school career

Tomlinson attended Henry County High School in McDonough, Georgia. He played football and was a wrestler in high school, winning three state titles. ^{[1] [2]}

College career

Redshirt freshman

Tomlinson began attending Alabama in 2012 and redshirted his first season while still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered playing for his soccer team in high school. ^{[3] [4]}

Freshman

Throughout Alabama's fall camp in 2013, Tomlinson competed with Ed Stinson, Jeoffrey Pagan, and A'Shawn Robinson for the starting defensive end position. Head coach Nick Saban named him the backup right defensive end behind Jeoffrey Pagan to begin his freshman season. On August 31, 2013, Tomlinson made his collegiate debut during Alabama's 35-10 victory over Virginia Tech. He recorded four combined tackles, but left after suffering a knee injury that caused him to miss the entire 2013 season. He had a surgery to repair the knee injury and was due to miss 5–6 months. ^{[5] [6]}

Sophomore

He returned to fall camp in 2014 and competed with Jonathan Allen and D. J. Pettway for the job as the starting defensive end. On August 30, 2014, Tomlinson recorded five combined tackles during Alabama's season-opening 33-23 victory over West Virginia. On October 25, 2014, he recorded two solo tackles and sacked Tennessee's quarterback Joshua Dobbs for the first one of his career during a 34-20 victory. On November 15, 2014, he recorded a season-high seven combined tackles, two tackles Mississippi, and made the second sack of his career, as Alabama defeated Mississippi State. He finished his sophomore season in 2014 with 22 combined tackles (8 solo), two sacks, and 5.5 tackles for a loss in 14 games. ^[7]

Junior

Tomlinson returned to fall camp in 2015, competing for the starting defensive end position with A'Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed, Jonathan Allen, and Da'Shawn Hand. He was named the backup right defensive end behind Jarran Reed to begin his third season. ^[6] In Alabama's season-opener against Wisconsin, Tomlinson made two solo tackles and a career-high three pass deflections during Alabama's 35-17 victory. On September 26, 2015, Tomlinson recorded a season-high five combined tackles in a 35-0 defeat over Louisiana-Monroe. During a Week 8 contest against LSU, he collected four combined tackles and was credited for half a sack on Brandon Harris in a 30-16 victory. ^[8] Tomlinson completed the 2015 season with 34 combined tackles (22 solo), a half a sack, and led the Crimson Tide with five pass deflections in 14 games. He was a part of a highly touted defensive front in 2015, that consisted of four future NFL players that would all be taken in the first two rounds of the 2016 and 2017 NFL Draft. Along with him and nose tackle Daron Payne, the defensive line included A'Shawn Robinson (46th overall, 2016), Jarran Reed (49th overall, 2016), and Jonathan Allen (17th overall, 2017).

Senior

Tomlinson competed with Jonathan Allen, Dakota Ball, and Da'Shawn Hand for the vacant defensive end positions throughout fall camp. Head coach Nick Saban named him the right defensive end opposite Jonathan Allen, to begin the 2016 season. He made his first career start during Alabama's season-opener against USC and helped hold the Trojans to 64 rushing yards and recorded one tackle during the 52-6 victory. He played both defensive tackle and defensive end throughout the game. The following week against Western Kentucky, he recorded three combined tackles, a tackle for a loss, and his first sack of the season, as the Crimson Tide defeated the Hilltoppers 38-10. On November 19, 2016, Tomlinson collected a career-high eight combined tackle and was credited with an assist for a tackle for a loss during a 31-3 win against Chattanooga. He finished his senior season a total of 62 combined tackles (45 solo), 5.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks, and a forced fumble in 14 games and 14 starts. ^[9]

During his career he had 122 tackles and four sacks. ^{[10] [6]}

Professional career

Pre-draft

Tomlinson received an invitation to the Senior Bowl and helped the South defeat the North 16-15 with four combined tackles. ^[11] The Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, and San Diego Chargers all met and interviewed Tomlinson during the week of the Senior Bowl. ^[12] He attended the NFL Combine and performed all of the combine and positional drills except for the bench. He also participated at Alabama's Pro Day and opted to only run positional drills and perform the bench press for scouts and team representatives. The majority of NFL draft experts and analysts projected him to be selected anywhere from the second to fourth round. He was ranked the fifth best defensive tackle in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com and NFL media analyst Mike Mayock, ranked the sixth best defensive tackle by ESPN, and was ranked the ninth best defensive tackle by Sports Illustrated . ^{[13] [14] [15]}

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 2+7⁄8 in (1.90 m)	310 lb (141 kg)	33+1⁄2 in (0.85 m)	10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m)	5.19 s	1.81 s	3.02 s	4.59 s	7.68 s	27 in (0.69 m)	9 ft 2 in (2.79 m)	22 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Alabama's Pro Day [16] [17]

New York Giants

The New York Giants selected Tomlinson in the second round with the 55th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. ^[18]

On May 10, 2017, the New York Giants signed Tomlinson to a four-year, $4.57 Million contract that includes $2.13 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.46 million. ^[19]

He competed with Robert Thomas, Jay Bromley, Jarron Jones, Jordan Williams , and Corbin Bryant throughout training camp for the role as the starting defensive tackle. ^[20] Head coach Ben McAdoo named Tomlinson the right defensive tackle, along with Damon Harrison, to begin the regular season. ^[21]

Tomlinson in a game against the Washington Redskins

He made his professional regular season debut during the Giants' season-opener against the Dallas Cowboys and made four combined tackles in the Giant's 3-19 loss. ^[22]

He originally began the 2018 season at defensive end. After Damon Harrison was traded to the Detroit Lions, Tomlinson was named starting nose tackle.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 17, 2021, Tomlinson signed a two-year, $22 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings. ^[23]

Cleveland Browns

On March 15, 2023, Tomlinson signed a four-year, $57 million contract with the Browns. ^[24]

References

1. Zenitz, Matt (December 15, 2015). "The story of Alabama's 'Renaissance man'". AL.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
2. Scalici, Matt (February 20, 2012). "Alabama signee Dalvin Tomlinson wins state wrestling title with 9-second pin (updated with video)". AL.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
3. Waack, Terrin (September 17, 2016). "Dalvin Tomlinson: All in the hands". Tuscaloosa News . Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
4. Waack, Terrin (June 30, 2011). "University of Alabama's Dalvin Tomlinson plays for his late mom". Tuscaloosa News . Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
5. Scarborough, Alex (September 9, 2013). "Dalvin Tomlinson out for season". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
6. "Alabama Crimson Tide: Dalvin Tomlinson". rolltide.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
7. "Dalvin Tomlinson 2014 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
8. "Dalvin Tomlinson 2015 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
9. "Dalvin Tomlinson 2016 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
10. Erickson, Joel A. (February 21, 2017). "Alabama DT Dalvin Tomlinson trying to prove his power, wrestling background can help rush the passer in NFL | Saints". Theadvocate.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
11. "Senior Bowl Roster: South". seniorbowl.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
12. "WalterFootball: 2017 Prospect Meetings". Walterfootball.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
13. Burke, Chris (April 24, 2017). "2017 NFL Draft Rankings: Top Prospects by Position". si.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
14. Legwold, Jeff (April 22, 2017). "Ranking the 2017 Draft's Top 100 Prospects". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
15. Mayock, Mike (April 12, 2017). "Mike Mayock's 2017 NFL Draft position rankings 3.0". NFL.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
16. "NFL Draft Profile: Dalvin Tomlinson". NFL.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
17. "Dalvin Tomlinson, DS #5 DT, Alabama". nfldraftscout.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
18. Eisen, Michael (April 28, 2017). "New York Giants Draft DT Dalvin Tomlinson in Round 2". Giants.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
19. "Spotrac.com: Dalvin Tomlinson contract". spotrac.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
20. "Ourlads.com: New York Giant's depth chart: 08/01/2017". Ourlads.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
21. Valentine, Ed (September 5, 2017). "Giants 2017 Depth Chart: Let's See What It Looks Like". bigblueview.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
22. "NFL Player Profile: Dalvin Tomlinson". NFL.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
23. Smith, Eric (March 17, 2021). "Vikings Agree to Terms With Defensive Tackle Dalvin Tomlinson". Vikings.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
24. Poisal, Anthony (March 15, 2023). "Browns agree to terms with DT Dalvin Tomlinson". ClevelandBrowns.com.

External links

• Dalvin Tomlinson on Twitter
• Minnesota Vikings bio
• Alabama Crimson Tide bio