The green dot on Blake Cashman’s helmet signifies the headset inside of it that allows him to communicate with the sideline and relay play calls to the rest of the defense. It is a crucial role within all NFL defenses, and Cashman’s assumption of that role in his first season in purple has been instrumental to the Minnesota Vikings’ success. When Cashman plays, the Vikings are 7-0. That’s no coincidence.
The Eden Prairie native and former Golden Gopher is back home and playing like one of the best off-ball linebackers in football. In an era where off-ball linebackers have become maligned, Cashman has proven to be the lynchpin of one of the league’s best defenses.
Considering how perfectly Cashman has fit into Brian Flores’ defense this season, you’d think he was a player that Flores had his eyes on for a while. Flores got his start as a pro scout, after all. However, Cashman found himself on Flores’ radar by happenstance.
Flores’ daughter had become friends with the daughter of the University of Minnesota’s former linebackers coach, Mike Sherels. One day, the two men were hanging out with their daughters, and Sherels brought up Cashman. Sherels told Flores that Cashman was the best guy they had at the U and that he happened to be a free agent that offseason. Flores took him at his word, turned on Cashman’s tape, and eventually pounded the table for him.
Regarding his conversation with Sherels, Flores said, “[Sherels is] someone who has no agenda. Just a former coach who speaks highly of him. You look him up, and there he is.”
It was a serendipitous interaction for B-Flo and the Vikings; Cashman has been one of the team’s most important players when healthy.
As the bearer of that all-important green dot, Cashman relays the initial play call to his teammates, diagnoses the opposing offense’s formation, and makes adjustments like the quarterback does on the other side of the ball. On his command, the D-line will shift from an over front to an under front or switch the side from which they run the stunt. Cashman will check the defense into a different coverage or make the judgment call between a blitz and a four-man rush. He controls everything between the moment he receives the play call and the opposing quarterback snaps the ball.
His absence was palpable in the three games he missed in Weeks 7 through 9. Minnesota’s defense was playing extremely well through five games, so they should be able to weather one injured linebacker, right? Following the loss to the Los Angeles Rams, I received texts from friends and family and saw tweets and headlines all saying the same thing: What happened to the Vikings’ defense? as if it was a schematic issue or a matter of diminished effort.
The fact was, the defense didn’t have its quarterback.
Second-year player Ivan Pace Jr. did his best to shoulder Cashman’s pre- and post-snap responsibilities, but the drop-off was significant. Pace is a heat-seeking missile who is at his best when simply aimed and fired. When he donned the green dot and took on the complex responsibilities that accompany it, we saw diminishing returns. On the other hand, Cashman is a cerebral six-year veteran with a firm grasp of the defense as a whole and his role within it.
The defense cratered over those three games without No. 51, particularly against the pass. From Weeks 7 to 9, on 171 snaps, the defense allowed 0.01 EPA/play. Over the 441 snaps and seven games with Cashman on the field, Minnesota’s EPA/play allowed is -0.28. The defense maintained a negative EPA/rush allowed in all three games, but opponents gashed them through the air.
Against the pass, Cashman’s range and instinct at the second level of the defense is special. He takes away a lot of intermediate throws with perfect positioning and stymies yards-after-catch opportunities with great pursuit and sure tackling. The Vikings run very little man coverage. Therefore, allowing a guy like Cashman to keep “zone eyes” and read the quarterback while remaining conscious of the route concept to his side maximizes a player with his savvy. He has accumulated three sacks and five pass deflections through seven games, both of which tie his career-high.
The drop-off was felt less in the run game, but Cashman is no slouch there either. He can get sucked into the line at times, but his pursuit against outside zone runs in particular jumps off the tape every week. Whether he is pursuing from the front side or back side of the ring, he’s an absolute torpedo.
Andrew Van Ginkel has eight sacks and two pick-sixes, Jonathan Greenard is third in the NFL in pressures, and Stephon Gilmore sealed a game with an interception of Aaron Rodgers on the final possession. Still, Blake Cashman is the Vikings’ most important free-agent addition of the 2024 offseason.
