As it goes leading up to this week’s NFL draft, hype for linebacker Blake Cashman peaked only after the Gophers’ best defender from last season removed his pads and left the football field.
Cashman’s standout performance at the NFL scouting combine, where he proved to be among the most athletic linebackers in the 2019 class, led scouts and analysts alike to reconsider pre-draft rankings. His phone buzzed with messages from teams wanting additional workouts and interviews; many draft analysts started saying he could be taken as high as the third or fourth round.
“It made a lot of people go back and watch my film.