Every team in the NFL has unsung heroes, often at less glamorous positions. The Minnesota Vikings are no different and, according to Pro Football Focus, have an underrated star of their own. That man is inside linebacker Blake Cashman.
The Vikings Have an Underrated Star
If that seems surprising to Vikings fans, that proves the point. Cashman plays an unfashionable position, one that turns up several times as PFF chose an underrated player for every team — which included former Viking Jordan Hicks. When you watch a team regularly, you soon realise just how important a player like Cashman is. He is the heartbeat of the Vikings’ defense.
Here is PFF’s assessment of Cashman as the Vikings’ underrated star.
Cashman is a relative unknown in the league as a former fifth-round pick who, outside of his rookie season and before becoming a starter in 2023, had failed to crack 150 defensive snaps in three straight years.
However, Cashman broke out in a big way in 2023 with the Texans, earning a top-10 PFF overall grade for his position (82.1), which helped him land a three-year deal with Brian Flores in Minnesota. Cashman delivered another strong year in 2024, playing a career-high 947 defensive snaps, ranking 22nd in PFF overall grade (72.0) and faring well in run defense (76.3).
A Minnesota native who played his college football for the Golden Gophers, it took Cashman a while to make his mark in the league. It didn’t work out for him with the team that drafted him – New York Jets – but a move to Houston saw Cashman come good at the perfect time to cash in. A breakout season in the last year of his rookie contract saw his home state club ready to secure his services on a 3-year, £22.5 million contract.
Cashman immediately became a vital part of coach Flores’ defense, taking on the green dot duties and being the chief communicator on the defense. His all-around skillset is confirmed by his scores of 70+ in all areas. Cashman played in 14 games last season and totaled 112 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 8 pass deflections, and 1 fumble recovery. His value to the team was never clearer than the three games he missed due to turf toe.
The then-unbeaten Vikings lost the first two games he was missing. Whether his presence would have changed the outcome of those games is debatable, but the Vikings’ defense was worse off without him.
The Future for Blake Cashman
While Ivan Pace has been a success story as an undrafted rookie, Cashman is undoubtedly the Vikings’ top linebacker. Minnesota has reinforced the depth this offseason by bringing back Eric Wilson and drafting Kobe King in the sixth round, while former third-round pick Brian Asamoah is still around, hoping to make a breakthrough. With a much improved interior defensive line and strength on the edge,
Cashman’s role of bringing it all together and making the Vikings’ defensive front formidable will be defining in the success or failure of the Vikings’ season.
Cashman’s current contract runs out at the end of the 2026 season, and if he performs at the same level in 2025 as last season. He will certainly be an extension candidate next year, where he could sign a new deal that will allow him to see out his career on his home team. It’s a deal that should happen.
Cashman should remain a key component of Minnesota’s defense for at least three or four years, while he hopefully helps bring the young crop of Vikings linebackers through.
He might be underrated nationally, but Vikings fans certainly know the importance of Blake Cashman.
