New York Giants defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will be reuniting in 2020.
After serving as the New York Giants defensive line coach from 2016-17, Patrick Graham is back with the organization for 2020 and potentially beyond. In one of his first assignments as head coach, Joe Judge chose Graham to be the team’s defensive coordinator after the 41-year-old served in the same role last year for the Miami Dolphins.
Graham will thus be reuniting with a few players, such as Blake Martinez and Kyler Fackrell, who he worked with in Green Bay in 2018, along with Dalvin Tomlinson, an individual he coached in East Rutherford back in 2017.
The organization parted ways with Graham after that campaign. Nonetheless, the veteran coach is back in a more significant role, and Tomlinson makes it known he’s had confidence in him for some time now.
Dalvin Tomlinson on a Zoom call said when Patrick Graham was his defensive line coach he got the sense he would be a coordinator one day. pic.twitter.com/UfI8lQhmCv
— Paul Schwartz (@NYPost_Schwartz) May 13, 2020
Success in this league has plenty to do with the connections you develop, and Tomlinson certainly worked well with Graham in 2017. During his inaugural pro season, the former second-round pick recorded 50 total tackles, one sack, and one pass breakup. He’s since improved over the years and has become arguably one of the better players throughout this entire Big Blue defense.
This past year, he racked up 49 combined tackles, a career-high nine quarterback hits, and a career-high 3.5 sacks. The latter mark was fourth on the team and an impressive one from the nose tackle position.
Expect Tomlinson to flourish even more while playing under Graham during his fourth NFL season. The Giants do indeed employ a nice foundation of defensive linemen on this roster. Tomlinson is looking to remain a noteworthy segment of that overall unit.
