The Denver Broncos went out and signed Eric Tomlinson in free agency. He's a good blocking tight end who hasn't shown much as a receiver, but the Broncos needed to better the blocking from the tight end.
Tomlinson has good versatility, and his career so far could provide insight into what the 2022 season holds.
Biography
Tomlinson just turned 30 years old at the end of March. He was born in Oklahoma, went to high school in Texas, and went to UTEP for college.
College Career
Tomlinson had a solid collegiate career, though he only caught 59 passes during his four years. He played in 40 games, which is not quite 1.5 catches per game.
Nevertheless, he picked up 547 yards and four touchdowns during that span. What stood out was his blocking, as he helped UTEP consistently rush for over 1,500 yards. Then, after four years, it was on to the NFL.
Draft
Tomlinson showed enough to get an invite to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and the NFL Combine. His game was good as a blocker, but his team lost 17-0. He followed that up with a mediocre showing at the Combine.
While Tomlinson did all the drills again at his pro day, it was only a minor improvement. He scored a 2.55 relative athletic score, where 4.78 is the average for a tight end. In the end, there wasn't enough to get drafted.
Professional Career
Tomlinson was initially signed by the Philadelphia Eagles but was let go in the final cuts. He then joined the Houston Texans, making it to the final cut-downs the following year. From there, he joined the New York Jets, which is where his first opportunity came.
In the 2016 season, Tomlinson played in seven games seeing 135 snaps on offense. The following two seasons were spent with the Jets, he saw 411 and 354 snaps on offense.
Tomlinson bounced around some more in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, spending time with the then Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, New York Giants, and Baltimore Ravens. He played 283 snaps over those two years. Then, finally, he caught on with the Ravens, where he spent the 2021 season and played 319 snaps on offense.
During his career, Tomlinson has also been used as a special teams player, where he played 755 snaps from 2016 to 2021. His play on special teams has always been good but in 2021 it was excellent.
Back to the offensive side of the ball, Tomlinson played 154 snaps as a fullback. He did quite well there, especially as a lead blocker. As teams go away from pure fullbacks, having the hybrid tight end is necessary.
2022 Outlook
Tomlinson is likely to make the roster, but the question is what his primary role would be. He has the versatility to be an in-line tight end and work as a fullback.
Denver has Albert Okwuegbunam, drafted Greg Dulcich, and re-signed Eric Saubert, among others, that Tomlinson is sharing the room with. Okwuegbunam, Dulcich, and Saubert can be tight ends that Denver can work in-line or out in the slot.
Tomlinson works best as an in-line tight end or as a fullback. The player with the biggest competition for his spot and role would be Andrew Beck.
Beck has been that fullback/tight end hybrid and a contributor on special teams. That's precisely how Tomlinson should be used.
While there is a competition here, the odds are Tomlinson will win it. Beck is a holdover from the old coaching regime, though he was re-signed by the new one, while Tomlinson was a targeted signing between the front office and coaching staff.
Tomlinson likely won't have much production as a receiver, but if he wins a roster spot, he should have a decent role. His blocking would help out the Broncos' running game, which often suffered from poor blocking from its tight ends. Tomlinson can also help improve a special teams unit that has struggled for years.
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