The Los Angeles Chargers made a variety of splashes in free agency before the draft while retooling both sides of the football. One was more dramatic than the other, of course. Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers brought on new faces at every layer of the offense on the depth chart for new coordinator Mike McDaniel. On the defensive side, things were far less chaotic. The Chargers lost Jesse Minter as coordinator and brought back Chris O’Leary from the college ranks to fill that role. But the theme is continuity, not a complete overhaul. And in the name of continuity, the signings were smaller. And smaller means a bigger chance to surprise, especially when it comes to new arrivals who haven’t received that much attention. Names like, say, Dalvin Tomlinson. Chargers OTAs standouts include free-agent signingLos Angeles Chargers | Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesO’Leary’s defensive line didn’t see a ton of changes this offseason. Credit to the Chargers: They made sure the Poona Ford mistake didn’t repeat itself by getting Teair Tart’s contract extension out of the way very early. But the Chargers did lose a smaller name or two, prompting the arrival of Tomlinson. At this point, Tomlinson isn’t a household name. But the Chargers like what they’re seeing so far in OTAs and the veteran revealed that he came to town for a pretty specific reason. "It was appealing because it's going to use me similarly to how I played in Minnesota," Tomlinson said, according to Chargers.com’s Omar Navarro. "Minnesota, Cleveland, pretty much my whole first half of my career and kind of like some Alabama stuff too into the mix. Just playing across the whole front, I feel like I'll be a piece to help everybody around me be better as well."Tomlinson clearly isn’t just a veteran mentor and depth presence with 142 games under his belt. He’s got 20 sacks and 70 quarterback hits over that span, with 11.5 sacks and 30 quarterback hits coming over four seasons combined in the mentioned stops in Minnesota and Cleveland. So, the Chargers are on the same page as Tomlinson. Meaning, he’s going to get used all over the formation with the likes of Tart, Jamaree Caldwell, Justin Eboigbe and others. Plus, he can indeed mentor the likes of rookie Nick Barrett. And true to form, Tomlinson enjoying a strong year would be pretty on brand for the Chargers. Minter’s defenses had a way of onboarding leftovers from other teams like Tart and helping them perform at a high level. Or taking later-round rookies like corner Tarheeb Still and turning them into full-blown starters. O’Leary, after working under Minter and with this defense already, hopes continuity means that keeps happening. If it does, Tomlinson could register on “best value signings by contenders” lists and similar very soon. Sign Up For the Chargers Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Los Angeles Chargers NewsletterAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow