Blake Cashman began his career at Minnesota as a walk-on. Through hard work and dedication, he earned a scholarship, became the team captain and became one of the best linebackers in college football. The Los Angeles Rams have a definite need at linebacker and Cashman should be on the Rams’ radar.
College stats and honors:
2018: 104 tackles, 62 solo, 15 for loss, 2.5 sacks and 5 pass deflections.
Career: 183 tackles, 116 solo, 31 for loss, 12 sacks and 6 pass deflections.
Honors: All-American 2nd team by Pro Football Focus, All-Big Ten 2nd team by conference media, All-Big Ten 3rd team by coaches, 2x Gary Tinsley Award at Minnesota.
Strengths:
Cashman has the type of work ethic coaches dream about. He embraces an underdog mentality at all times and is extremely coachable. A “we not me” guy, Cashman is a leader on and off the field. He is an athletic linebacker who plays sideline to sideline and has experience playing defensive back in his career. Cashman possesses fluid hips and great field awareness. He has the ability to cover tight ends and running backs.
He improved every year as a player and is not afraid to play special teams. Cashman can play inside or outside in a 4-3 and inside in a 3-4. He can be used effectively in blitz packages as well. Cashman is an instinctive player who rarely gets caught out of position. He’s constantly around the ball and is a sound tackler.
Cashman played in 36 games in his four years at Minnesota (2015-2018). He earned his scholarship after being a walk-on despite NCAA Division II offers. Cashman is well respected by his coaches and peers. He loves the game of football and is as passionate as any player I’ve ever seen.
Weaknesses:
Cashman is a little undersized for an inside linebacker. However, at 6’1″ 237 lbs. he can still do everything asked of him at the NFL level. He benefits from a relatively weak linebacker class. Undersized linebackers have hurt the Rams in the past. Cashman needs to improve his strength and his stack-and-shed ability for the NFL.
Expected Draft round:
I expect Cashman to land somewhere between the middle of round one and early in round two. I would be more than happy if the Rams selected him at 31. With his do-it-all ability and high character, teams will be falling in love with him in interviews. Cashman’s combine caught everyone’s attention but his tape shows that none of it was a fluke. He is in my top three linebackers in this draft. In a better draft class, I still wouldn’t drop him out of the middle of round two.
Player Comparison:
Deion Jones, Harrison Smith
Sources: sports-reference.com, University of Minnesota, Blake Cashman @blockayyy
Follow Josh Kollack on Twitter @rn_kylo and stay up-to-date on all the latest news and updates on the Los Angeles Rams by following @TalkRams.
