The Cleveland Browns, now on the verge of clinching a playoff spot, had some of the worst defensive tackle play in the NFL during the 2022 season. It was clear that general manager Andrew Berry had to make it a priority to fix that issue before this season. The biggest and most important move he made to correct that was giving veteran Dalvin Tomlinson a four-year, $57 million deal in the offseason.
There were plenty of critics over the size of the deal with some saying he wasn’t a three-down difference-maker sort of player. That couldn’t have been farther from the truth as Tomlinson has played some of the best football of his career with the Browns in 2023. There have been more than a couple of games that have been taken over in stretches by Dalvin Tomlinson.
He has made a massive impact in both phases of the game and already has a career-high 33 quarterback pressures with three games left. Tomlinson also has made his presence known in the run game helping to reshape a putrid run defense from last year.
Being paired up with multiple great pass rushers on the edge and the massive improvement from Jordan Elliott have helped Tomlinson get favorable matchups. Jim Schwartz has found a way to make the most of the talent he has on defense and has Cleveland looking like the best in the league.
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