ESPN’s latest bold call is pointing straight at one of the Minnesota Vikings’ biggest defensive weapons.
At 5-0, Minnesota has leaned heavily on its defense, even as the offense has shown gradual improvement over the past couple of weeks. The unit still has room to grow, but the defense has already carried a lot of the load.
That backdrop is what makes Seth Walder’s new prediction so eye-catching: Blake Cashman will finish with at least nine sacks.
For an off-ball linebacker, that would be a massive total. But Cashman is not being used like a typical linebacker in Brian Flores’ scheme. He has rushed the passer on 32% of dropbacks, and he already has 2.5 sacks.
Walder had started the season with a different bold prediction, picking Kyler Murray to finish in the top 12 in QBR, ESPN’s metric for quarterback performance. After five games, he swapped that out for Cashman.
There’s reason for the shift. Minnesota’s defense ranks No. 1 in EPA/play and DVOA through five games, and Cashman has been right at the center of it.
He is tied for 25th in the NFL with 18 pressures, even though he has rushed the passer on only 61 snaps, per Next Gen Stats. His 29.5 pressure rate leads all defenders with at least 30 pass-rush snaps.
Walder’s skepticism about Murray also fits the way the season has gone so far. The quarterback has taken steps forward, but there have still been stretches where he passed on chances to attack when receivers were open.
If Flores keeps sending pressure at the same rate - he has blitzed on 67% of all dropbacks - Cashman should have plenty of chances to keep piling up sacks and give Walder’s prediction a real shot.
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