Pat McAfee Show Blown Away by One of Us Minnesota Vikings ‘Cash Man’

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Blake Cashman, Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

Blake Cashman used to make plays for Eden Prairie high school. After graduation, he stuck around the Twin Cities, and became a Minnesota Gophers standout. Now, he plays football professionally, as starting MLB for the Minnesota Vikings.

He’s already made a name for himself, locally. But in his first season back home, Blake’s impact with the Vikings is already being felt in big ways. Now, the Vikings are a surprise 2-0 start and Cashman is starting to grab national attention too.

Pat McAfee Show loves Blake Cashman

On Tuesday, The Pat McAfee Show featured Blake Cashman during a film breakdown session that included retired NFL players Darius Butler, AJ Hawk and McAfee. They came up with a couple different ways to describe the Gopher-turned-Viking. Butler called Blake “an animal”. Pat went with “Cash-Man”. This is content, right here.

Darius Butler: The post-snap, they’re going to cover two. Watch these two defenders underneath, starting with Cashman. He’s that left-highlighted guy. Just watch the pre-snap sky, boom. So, post-snap, we’ve got cover 2 high shell, and just watch these underneath defenders. Watch that right hash, boom. I mean, that’s a great break. “I know AJ (Hawk) can appreciate that—great eyes, great balance. You go see the tip.”

AJ Hawk: You practice this all day long, but you know as a DB and linebacker, that’s what you do—break on intentions. You read the quarterback, then break on intentions and cut underneath it. This is great. That’s something you work on all the time, a fundamental situation.

Pat McAfee: What did Purdy say about this defense?

Darius Butler: “That scheme is crazy, bro.” And you see it right here from the back view. You see it from Purdy’s view—great drop, breaking on intentions. They always talk about tips and overthrows: you gotta catch those, gotta have them. When you get that opportunity in the game, especially, you set up Sam Darnold with great field position right here.

AJ Hawk: Cashman had 13 tackles.

Darius Butler: Cashman… is an animal.

Pat McAfee: He’s “Cash Man.”

Pat McAfee Show

It’s fun to watch three former professional football players break down film, and key in on the smaller details of the game. Darius Butler had a strong career as a safety. AJ Hawk is one of the greatest Green Bay Packers linebackers of all time, which is saying something.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Give Jordan Addison Injury Update

Cashman didn’t start his NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings, of course. In 2019, he was drafted by the New York Jets. In March, 2022, Blake was traded to the Houston Texans, where he was able to stay healthy, and see far more playing time.

Blake, the “Cash Man”, comes home to Minnesota Vikings

In 2023, he had his breakout season, racking up over 100 tackles, which was more than his previous four seasons combined and double his previous season high (40), which came as a rookie with the Jets. This past offseason, he got his first crack at free agency, and signed with his hometown Vikings. The rest (hopefully) will be history.

YearAgeTmGGSIntPDFFFRSkCombSoloAstTFLQBHits
201923NYJ7501010.540271333
202024NYJ4100.064200
202125NYJ31000.033000
202226HOU16102013.02619745
202327HOU141315012.0106565095
202428MIN2203001.01991011
Career4623111036.5200118821714
3 yr3 yrNYJ14701010.549341533
2 yr2 yrHOU301417025.013275571310
1 yr1 yrMIN22031.01991011
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/19/2024.

Cashman is finally getting the recognition he deserves for his performance, and as the season goes on, we’ll hopefully see even more buzz around him. So far, he’s been one of the biggest steals of the offseason. The Minnesota Vikings play against his former team, the Houston Texans, on Sunday.

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