The New Orleans Saints will meet with an interesting draft prospect, per Thor Nystrom of NBC Rotoworld. Nystrom reports that the Saints will host Minnesota Golden Gophers linebacker Blake Cashman in between the flurry of free agency activity surrounding the Saints.
Cashman turned everyone’s head at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine, first passing any benchmarks for his build (6-foot-1, 237-pounds) and then breaking into the top percentiles for every speed and agility test. A 4.5-second 40-yard dash and 6.95-second three-cone drill. A 124-inch broad jump and 37 1/2-inch vertical. Even if he was a little undersized with a 73-inch wingspan, Cashman proved he can cover any running back in the league.
That performance at the combine turned into intense interest ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft in April. Per Nystrom’s report, Cashman met with 26 teams at the combine and has meetings with more, including the Saints and Tennessee Titans. Sold on his athleticism and college production (Cashman logged 104 tackles as a senior, 62 solo and 15 for loss of yards), teams must be curious to see how he holds up in private interviews and board work.
Cashman is a prospect likely to be available when the Saints make their first pick at 62 overall, come draft day. It’s tough to believe he could displace one of the Saints’ starting linebackers — Demario Davis, Alex Anzalone, and A.J. Klein — and they just re-signed backup Craig Robertson, but that won’t stop them from drafting another linebacker. Maybe the Saints think he can make the team better. We’ve got a month and a half to see how it unfolds.
