Giants Player Profile: Eric Tomlinson, TE
2019 Rewind
Eric Tomlinson is a strong 6’6", 260-pound tight end out of the University of Texas at El Paso. Tomlinson was an undrafted free agent in 2015 who was originally signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. Since then, he’s been with the Texans, Jets, Giants, Patriots, Raiders, and is now back with the Giants.
Tomlinson’s only real productive period from a statistical receiving standpoint was with the Jets in 2017 and 2018. In that span, he had 16 total receptions, 8 in each, with one touchdown. In 2019, Tomlinson found himself on four separate rosters.
As previously noted, UTEP was Tomlinson’s home from 2011-14, and he excelled as a blocker. As a receiver, Tomlinson had 59 catches for 547 yards and four touchdowns with the Miners.
His most productive season was as a junior in 2013; he had 30 catches for 304 yards and one touchdown. He missed a few games in his senior season, but he still earned honorable mention All-Conference USA and was on the Mackey List during the middle of the college football season.
A 3-star recruit who excelled in the classroom, Tomlinson was a three-time All-C-USA honorable mention C-USA Commissioner's honor roll. He didn’t receive an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl, but he did attend the NFLPA Bowl and the NFL Combine.
Outside of poor production in college, Tomlinson was also not drafted because of a dismal combine experience. He was measured with imposing size, but his arm length was in the 38th percentile at 32⅞,” and his 10” hands were in the 59th percentile. His 4.98 40 yard dash tested in the 8th percentile; his 1.73 10-yard split was in the 11th percentile.
His explosive drills were terrible too. He jumped 30½” in the vertical, which is in the 23rd percentile, and 110” in the broad jump, which is 21st percentile. In the 3-cone drill, which tests agility in space and ability to turn tightly/efficiently, he clocked in at 7.46 seconds (11th percentile).
Despite his shorter arms, his bench press was only 19 reps, which was sub-50th percentile for the tight end position. His athletic ability is not his strong suit, but he’s currently on the roster because of his size and blocking ability at the point of attack.
Going Forward
Tomlinson was added to a tight end room that already consists of Evan Engram, Kaden Smith, Levine Toilolo, and Garrett Dickerson. The team has also added undrafted free agents Rysen John (Simon Fraser) and Kyle Markway (South Carolina).
The former is a gigantic receiver turned tight end, who should end up on the practice squad in a best-case scenario; the latter is a more traditional tight end, who doesn’t have great athletic ability or college production.
Engram is an athletic freak at tight end, and Kaden Smith is more balanced, but Toilolo is similar to Tomlinson because they’re both really solid blockers at the point of attack.
Toilolo’s footwork in pass protection is a bit better than Tomlison’s from what I’ve seen, but Tomlinson does a good job down-blocking and generating push at the line of scrimmage.
Like Toilolo, Tomlinson is a large target and an imposing individual to attempt to tackle in space. He doesn’t have a lot of shake or wiggle with the ball in his hands, but he can be a short check-down option after blocking and releasing off play-action or standard plays.
Tomlinson has a shot at earning the fourth tight end spot behind Engram, Smith, and Toilolo; his chance at making the roster is increased by his special teams background. Tomlinson was with the Patriots for a cup of tea, and Judge may have seen something in the player that he can utilize on special teams.
I don’t see Tomlinson making a significant impact on the offense, but maybe he can catch a big touchdown on 13-personnel play action after a hard run sell. But first, he has to make the roster ahead of Garrett Dickerson, and the undrafted rookie tight ends.
