Ranking the Cleveland Browns 5 best moves of the offseason

2. Signing Dalvin Tomlinson

They got the new safety who can play deep coverage and not only replaced Jadeveon Clowney, but even upgraded. Still, neither of those additions will do as much for the defense as Dalvin Tomlinson will.

A former second-round pick out of Alabama, Tomlinson spent the past two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings following a four-year stint with the New York Giants. While in Minnesota, he recorded 81 tackles and five sacks in two seasons. He lived up to the huge contract they signed him too and now has 288 tackles and 13 sacks in his six-year career.

Where he really helps Cleveland is in his ability to slow down the running game. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 325-pounds, Tomlinson isn't going to be bullied by opposing offensive linemen, which was an issue for the Browns defensive tackles in 2022.

Cleveland was gashed for 2,295 yards on the ground and gave up 4.7 yards per attempt. Their defensive line was built to attack the quarterback and not only did they fail to do that with their interior linemen, but they were a major problem against the run.

Tomlinson joins Siaki Ika, Maurice Hurst, Jr., and Trysten Hill as they aim to turn their biggest weakness from a year ago into a strength. The key to doing this is Tomlinson, who was their top signing of the offseason — and comes in as their best player acquisition.