Dalvin Tomlinson signed a $57 million contract to join the Cleveland Browns in NFL free agency last week. But he isn’t the only defensive tackle to hit the jackpot this offseason.

Daron Payne signed a $90 million deal with the Washington Commanders. Javon Hargrave got an $84 million contract from the San Francisco 49ers. David Onyemata joined the Atlanta Falcons for a $35 million deal.

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“It’s always, I guess you could say, a sense of pride just because as defensive tackles we do a lot out there,” Tomlinson said about the big-money contracts for his peers. “We do a lot of the grunt work, I guess you could say. And Daron, I’m super happy for him because he was one of my young guys at Bama, so I’m super proud of him to see the kind of player he’s become today.”

Tomlinson and Payne played together at Alabama during the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Tomlinson entered the NFL as a second-round selection of the New York Giants in 2017. Washington picked Payne in the first round in 2018.

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After four seasons with the Giants, Tomlinson left in the free agency for a two-year, $21 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings. With that contract expiring on March 15, the Browns made Tomlinson a priority in free agency when the negotiating period opened one week ago.

“As soon as free agency started, Cleveland was the first team to call,” Tomlinson said. “As soon as they were available to call, they called.”

It’s pretty clear why the Browns targeted Tomlinson. Cleveland finished 25th among the NFL’s 32 teams in rushing yards allowed during the 2022 season, and only two teams gave up more rushing touchdowns than the Browns.

“As a defensive lineman, I just feel like going into each season there’s always a lot of pressure to stop the run,” Tomlinson said, “because if you can’t stop the run, you’ll never get to pass rush. I just want to come in and help everybody across the whole front so we can be one unit upfront to stop the run as much as possible. …

“The mindset part is 90 percent of it, because if you don’t have the mindset to think you’re going to be physical and stop this run, you’ve already lost the battle because the NFL is a very physical game we play, and stopping the run is always, I feel like, tougher than getting a sack because you have to come with that mindset every single play, every single rep, and no matter how sore or tired you may be, it’s required. It’s a requirement to go out there and be physical, and that’s what we do.”

Tomlinson cited two sources for developing that mindset in him.

“I think probably the biggest thing was wrestling throughout high school and Alabama,” Tomlinson said. “Coach (Nick) Saban always says, ‘Trust the process.’ And that’s part of the process: We’re going to be physical no matter what.”

Cleveland will have a new defensive coordinator in 2023 with Jim Schwartz coming aboard after two seasons as a senior defensive assistant with Tennessee Titans. The head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009 through 2013, Schwartz has 14 seasons of experience as an NFL defensive coordinator.

“The defensive scheme was one of the biggest things and how physical the defensive scheme is,” Tomlinson said about his reasons for signing the Browns. “It’s attacking. It’s all based on attacking — get off the ball pretty much. Being able to use my power more to my advantage as attacking everybody I line up against and just getting off the ball, I feel like is the best fit for me.

“And also the players. Me and (defensive end) Myles Garrett came in on the same draft class, and I’m super excited to play next to him. He’s one of those freak athletes. He’s truly a generational player, so I’m super excited to play with him.”

Schwartz is a proponent of the wide-9 defensive scheme. In that defense, the ends line up on the outside shoulder of the tight end (or where the tight end would be) rather than in the gap between the tight end and the offensive tackle.

“Space on the inside is hard to come by these days,” Tomlinson said of the effect of the wide-9 set on his position. “The more space you can have is amazing. It just gives you that much more room to attack the offensive line.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.