Blake Cashman tells all about Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy, Kevin O'Connell, Brian Flores

"I’ve always said, for people who don’t know his game, he’s got everything you need, he’s just got to put it together."

Blake Cashman / Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

New Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman is excited to be in purple, even if his favorite team growing up was the Packers.

In an appearance on the Green Light podcast, Cashman spoke on a range of topics from joining the Vikings, his thoughts on head coach Kevin O'Connell and playing for his hometown team.

Cashman, a former star for Eden Prairie High School and the Minnesota Gophers, returned to Minnesota this season on a three-year, $22.5 million deal. He spent the first three years of his NFL career in New York after the Jets selected him in the fifth round of the 2019 draft. With the Jets, Cashman played sparingly, appearing in just 14 games over three seasons.

After his disappointing stint in New York came to an end, Cashman headed south for Houston where he appeared in 30 games over the past two seasons, earning a starting role with the Texans last year. The two years spent with the Texans are years that Cashman said "revived" his career.

He admitted that he thought he was going to get something done with Houston before eventually landing in Minnesota. Cashman will be joined by fellow former Texan Jonathan Greenard, who also signed with Minnesota this offseason.

"I love that guy," Cashman said of Greenard. "Phenomenal player. One of the best locker room guys I've been around."

Cashman and Greenard didn't plan on both leaving Houston for Minnesota in the same offseason, with the former Gophers linebacker saying he was "surprised" when Greenard's deal was announced.

In Minnesota, Cashman will be part of a resurgent Vikings defense under Brian Flores.

"It's an exotic defense," said Cashman, when talking about Flores' scheme. "It’s brand new to me, I’ve never played in a system like this. I’m excited because there’s a lot of moving parts that keeps offenses guessing. He’s going to have six, seven, eight guys up at the line of scrimmage. That’s the point of the defense, to have the offense confused and create chaos. I think it’s a high risk, high reward defense.

"I see a defense where there’s a lot of opportunities to make plays for everyone. But you got to be on your s***, because you’re going to be in different spots, different alignments, learning new coverages or doing something different that you hadn’t worked all year. As long as you understand that, I think we’ll be alright. As a guy that’s probably played in a new system with different coaches every year since my freshman year of college, I pride myself on being a smart player and being able to make those adjustments.”

Flores wasn't the only coach Cashman had glowing reviews for after just a couple months with the Vikings. Cashman had nothing but praise for his new head coach, Kevin O'Connell.

“KO, he’s a G, man. I remember the first time meeting him, when I flew up from Houston to sign here in Minnesota, I’m like, ‘This guy’s cool as hell.’ One of my favorite things with coaches is when they can just sit back, turn the Xs and Os off and just talk man to man, hang out and be a G. He’s a dude," said Cashman. "I’m really excited to play for him. I think he has a great offensive mind. He’s going to have our team ready to go each week.”

When asked about the similarities between O'Connell and Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, Cashman said both are enthusiastic, player-friendly and have "great established culture" and a "plan for how they want their team to be ran."

Cashman also reunites in Minnesota with former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold. They were teammates in New York in 2019 and 2020. Cashman calls Darnold a "great teammate, great person, great player."

"I felt that in New York, he did not have a great situation. Call it how it is, our offensive line was struggling, we didn’t have the weapons, it was dysfunctional a little bit. That guy battles and he goes to war," continued Cashman. "He’s a leader. A guy I respect a lot. ... I’ve always said, for people who don’t know his game, he’s got everything you need, he’s just got to put it together. I think this a perfect situation for him as well.”

Darnold will be competing with rookie QB J.J. McCarthy, who the Vikings selected with the 10th overall pick in this year's draft.

“J.J.’s awesome," Cashman said of the rookie. "He’s got the skills to be a good quarterback in this league. Where I’m impressed is, most rookies, when they come in you’re just trying to take it all in, survive each day. To me ... J.J., you can just see how calm he is, how confident he is. He's got a smile on his face. He’s going around meeting everyone on the team, having real conversations. That’s the maturity and professionalism a quarterback needs to have. He’s a student of the game. Eager to learn. He’s eager to lead, which it doesn’t matter how old you are, I mean the kid’s 21, but if you’re going to be the quarterback, you have to be the face and leader of the football team. He understands that. I’m really excited to see him continue to put his game together. He can have a special year.”