It’s better to be underrated than overrated.
During his five-year career (2012-16) at the University of Alabama, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson garnered very little attention from media pundits. A proven warrior, he endured two knee surgeries in his tenure—prior to becoming one of the Tide’s most valued starters/rotation players.
The McDonaugh, Ga., native was fully healthy in 2015, which led to him collecting 34 total tackles, six pass breakups (led defensive line) and four quarterback hurries through 15 games.
To showcase more of his command and strength along the front line, Tomlinson return to Tuscaloosa in 2016 for his redshirt senior year. Better than ever, he developed an ability to pressure quarterbacks from inside while perfecting his craft as a two-gap run stopper. He was among the team leaders in tackles (62), and chimed in with 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, four pass breakups, seven quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.
After earning four Southeastern Conference titles (2012, 2014-16) and two national championships (2012, 2015), Tomlinson accepted an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
The 6-foot-3, 312-pounder recorded four tackles, assisting team South to a 16-15 win.
He embodies Nick Saban’s mantra of affecting the quarterback in more ways than just sacks. Tomlinson has enough speed to run a signal caller off his spot, strength to collapse the pocket and big hands to knock balls down (10 career breakups) if he can’t get to the passer. To end the 2016 season, he helped the Tide finish first in total defense (262 ypg), rush defense (64 ypg) and scoring defense (13.0 ppg) while being tied for first in tackles for loss (7.9/game).
He’s listed as the 74th overall prospect and No. 7 defensive tackle in this year’s class, per the CBS’ NFL Draft Tracker. Tomlinson’s projected a second to third round pick. Listed below is a chart of five teams in need of a either a defensive tackle or depth along its defensive line, including the team that will select Tomlinson.
| Top NFL Draft spots for Tomlinson |
| Minnesota Vikings (NFC North) |
| Kansas City Chiefs (AFC West) |
| New York Giants (NFC East) |
| Washington Redskins (NFC East) |
| Seattle Seahawks (NFC West) |
Final Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs
Despite winning the AFC West at 12-4 last season, Kansas City has issues to address on defense in the upcoming draft. Adding depth along its defensive line is one of the situations at hand, as the Chiefs have Dontari Poe, Kendall Reyes and Jarvis Jenkins listed as unrestricted free agents in March. Coach Andy Reid saw his unit finish at Nos. 24 and 26 in total defense (368.5 y/g) and run defense (121.1 y/g) in 16 games.
During his junior and senior (2015, 2016) seasons at Alabama, Tomlinson aided the Tide to having an NCAA-best 71 rushing yards allowed and 269.2 total yards allowed offensively.
With Tomlinson, Alabama allowed 217 first downs—a difference of 125 from what Kansas City allowed in 2016 (342). The Tide’s third down defense was also stifling, surrendering a first down 30.7 percent of the time.
As for the Chiefs, it finished 30th in that department (96 of 222, 43.2 percent). Selecting Tomlinson brings more than just depth, his size, technique and experience would free up other guys to create negative plays.
Stephen M. Smith is a senior analyst and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @Smsmith_TDALMag.
