Player

Dalvin Tomlinson

DT · Cardinals

Dalvin Tomlinson: facts drawn from the play-by-play.

FanIQ Research · May 12, 2026 · 6 facts, every one from the play-by-play

9 seasons, 5 teams worth of pressure — 22.5 career sacks and 78 QB hits as an interior anchor.

Trend

Tomlinson by season and team

Season	Team	Tackles	Sacks	QB Hits	TFL
2017	NYG	17	1.0	1	1
2018	NYG	15	0.0	0	5
2019	NYG	19	3.5	9	7
2020	NYG	21	3.5	10	8
2021	MIN	11	2.5	7	2
2022	MIN	16	2.5	10	4
2023	CLE	12	3.0	12	5
2024	CLE	9	3.0	18	6
2025	ARI	12	1.0	3	3

A 2017 second-rounder by the Giants, Tomlinson has been a starting interior DT every year of his career — first NYG (2017-20), then Minnesota (2021-22), Cleveland (2023-24), and now Arizona on a one-year deal.

45 career TFLs and 78 QB hits from a player whose primary job has always been the 2-gap run anchor.

18 QB hits in 2024 — career high — but only 3.0 sacks. The most unlucky pressure season of his career.

Anomaly

QB-hit-to-sack ratio per season

Season	QB Hits	Sacks	Hits/Sack
2019	9	3.5	2.6
2020	10	3.5	2.9
2022	10	2.5	4.0
2023	12	3.0	4.0
2024	18	3.0	6.0

In 2024 with Cleveland, Tomlinson posted 18 QB hits — a career high — but converted just 3.0 of them into sacks. That 6.0 hits-per-sack ratio is more than double his most efficient years (~2.6 in 2019-20).

The diagnosis is simple: he was generating pressure consistently but arriving a tick late behind Myles Garrett and Za'Darius Smith on the cleanup. A different deployment in Arizona could regress those hits back toward sacks — but 2025 has started slow (1.0 in 9 games).

Iron man: 18 games in 2022, 17+ in 6 of 9 seasons — has never missed extended time.

Milestone

Games played per season

Season	Games
2017	16
2018	16
2019	16
2020	16
2021	17
2022	18
2023	18
2024	17

Tomlinson has played a full season in every year of his career, including a 16-of-16 streak across his Giants tenure. The 18-game seasons in 2022 and 2023 include postseason appearances with Minnesota and Cleveland.

For an interior DT — the position with the heaviest snap-by-snap physical toll — that durability is the foundational reason he's been on 9 starting D-line rosters in 9 years.

Career splits: best run-stop year was 2020 (8 TFLs) — best pressure year was 2024 (18 QB hits).

Split

Tomlinson's role has shifted across stops. Under the Giants (2017-20) he was almost purely a run-anchor — 21 of his 45 career TFLs came in those 4 years.

In Cleveland (2023-24), the Browns asked him to rush more — that's where his 30 QB hits in 2 years came from. Now in Arizona on a 1-year deal, his snap count and role are still being calibrated under DC Nick Rallis.

5 teams in 9 years: NYG, MIN, CLE, ARI — never re-signed by the team that drafted him.

Comparison

Despite producing every season, Tomlinson has bounced GIANTS → VIKINGS (2021) → BROWNS (2023) → CARDINALS (2025) — four organizations in less than a decade. Each move has been a free-agent signing rather than a trade, with the Cardinals adding him on a 2-year, $26M deal in 2025.

His profile (run-defense first, secondary pass rush) has been priced as mid-tier veteran insurance rather than scheme cornerstone — explaining the moves more than the production does.

Played alongside elite EDGE every stop: J.J. Watt's brother T.J.? No — Snacks Harrison, Hunter, Garrett, Sweat.

Rare

Tomlinson's career has been a tour through adjacent stars: - NYG (2017-20): Played beside Damon Harrison and B.J. Hill - MIN (2021-22): Lined up next to Danielle Hunter and Harrison Smith - CLE (2023-24): Anchored next to Myles Garrett during Garrett's DPOY 2023 - ARI (2025): Now paired with Josh Sweat and Walter Nolen

The pattern: Tomlinson is the 'eat the double-team so the edge can win his 1-on-1' specialist. The advanced production of every EDGE next to him is the real testament to what his counting stats undersell.

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