The New York Giants have a young defense with lots of unproven talent. New York invested heavily in their secondary this offseason, drafting three defensive backs in the 2019 NFL Draft (four if you count Sam Beal). They also traded for the young, multi-skilled safety Jabrill Peppers.
One area of the Giants defense is not as unproven as the secondary. The defensive interior is arguably one of the best young units in the NFL. The Giants have a lot of talent on their defensive line.
B.J. Hill proved himself in his rookie season. Rookie defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is almost a can’t-miss prospect, as he is destined to be an excellent run defender at the very least, but he will need to prove he can rush the passer as well in the NFL. No one on this defensive line has proven himself quite like Dalvin Tomlinson.
Dalvin Tomlinson Stats And Highlights:
The Giants drafted Dalvin Tomlinson in the 2nd round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Ever since then, he has been a solid, consistent player on the Giants’ defensive line.
Tomlinson has finished with 50 or more tackles in each of his first two seasons. In 2017, Dalvin totaled 50 tackles, and in 2018 he totaled 59. He improved his tackles for loss total to 5 in 2018 after posting only 1 in 2017. Dalvin Tomlinson is not a flashy player, but he gets the job done.
Tomlinson not only gets the job done, but he gets it done at an incredibly consistent level. In 2018, Dalvin Tomlinson had the longest active streak of tackles without a miss with 60. Dalvin has only missed one tackle in his two-year NFL career. This is an extremely advanced level of consistency for a player entering only his third NFL season.
The Giants traded away Damon Harrison Sr. during the 2018 NFL season. Harrison is arguably the best run-defending nose tackle in the NFL. Many assumed the Giants would severely miss Damon’s impact, but Dalvin Tomlinson made sure that was not the case.
Tomlinson ranked as the 9th best interior defensive lineman in the league according to Pro Football Focus after switching positions to nose tackle midseason. The position change was because of the Damon Harrison trade. Dalvin Tomlinson filled the hole left in the middle extremely well, posting an 83.1 overall PFF grade.
Since transitioning to more of a NT role in Week 8, Dalvin Tomlinson has become one of the best DIs in the NFL. Since the change, he ranks as the 9th best DI with an Overall Grade of 80.5 (min 141 snaps).#GiantsPride pic.twitter.com/ErdvdU5Md2
— Matt Stopsky (@MStopsky) November 29, 2018
Dalvin has racked up 24 defensive stops against the run in two years in the NFL. He is proving to be a true brick wall in the middle of Big Blue’s defensive line. He has been a great run defender his during his first two seasons in the NFL. There is no reason to believe that will change.
Dalvin Tomlinson will continue to develop and will continue to be one of the best young defensive linemen in the NFL. He might not be flashy enough to receive extra media attention, but he gets the job done consistently. Opposing offenses will have to gameplan around Tomlinson due to his ability to stuff the run.