He has played 4 games this year and has 3.5 sacks on the season. He’s second on the team in that category (JRod has 5). There has been a significant hole at edge rusher and he answered the bell when he’s been called upon this season.
A lot of it could be circumstantial and I don’t want to assume he can fill some elite edge rusher role that we’ve tried to shove Adedire, Smith, and Washington into the last few years to no avail. That said, it really impresses me when a relatively unknown player makes the most of his opportunity and forces you to keep playing him. I wouldn’t be shocked in the slightest to see him as a constant name in the edge rotation in the bowl and into next year and Tilmon absolutely has earned that opportunity.