Texans: Will Blake Cashman be a key piece to the defense’s success?

Can Blake Cashman bring success to the Houston Texans defense?

As the Houston Texans inch closer to the start of the 2022 regular season, we’ve seen some nice additions to the defense this offseason, such as players like Derek Stingley, Jalen Pitre, Fabian Moreau, Mario Addison, Jerry Hughes, and Steven Nelson to name a few.

Those players look to build what could eventually become an unstoppable defense after ranking almost dead last in every category last season, but time will tell on that thought.

The Texans have made great additions to their offense as well, such as the signing of former Indianapolis Colts running back Marlon Mack, and by drafting of Alabama receiver John Metchie III, though he’s out for the season as he battles APL (Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia) .

This Houston team shows really good promise in the future as they search for a solution to the struggles they had last season on both sides of the football.

That said, one name that everyone is forgetting that will play a major role in the potential success of the Texans is former New York Jets linebacker Blake Cashman.

Blake Cashman is capable of big things in 2022 with the Texans

Cashman was traded to the Texans from the Jets in exchange for a sixth-round pick. Cashman was drafted in the fifth round by New York out of the University of Minnesota. With the Golden Gophers, he put up 12 career sacks, 31.5 tackles for loss, 116 tackles and two forced fumbles. In his senior year alone, he put up 62 tackles with 2.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss.

Sadly, that production hasn’t translated to the NFL after a solid rookie year where he put up 40 tackles, three tackles for loss and one pass deflection.

Cashman hasn’t been able to stay healthy thus far in his NFL career, but if he can, he has the talent to be a dangerous player. Since being traded, though, Cashman has been turning heads in Texans training camp.

Houston head coach Lovie Smith stated the following about Cashman:

"“He fits the profile. He’s fast. He’s a smart guy. He’s kind of new to our system a little bit, but for the people that have been out at training camp, he’s flashed quite a bit. So when a guy has been flashing in training camp practices, you want them to take that to the field on game day.”"

In the preseason games Cashman has played in, he’s shown great potential as he’s been able to stop the run and drop back in coverage really well. Plus, if you want a bold prediction for 2022 and the Texans, here it is: expect Cashman to be the Pro Bowl selection for this Texans this season.