Latest news with #Blackmon
USA Today
10-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Countdown to Kickoff: Julian Blackmon is the Saints Player of Day 28
Blackmon is expected to give New Orleans a younger and more athletic safety duo The New Orleans Saints will open their 2025 season in 28 days when they take on the Arizona Cardinals at home. Julian Blackmon, a recent newcomer to the squad, wears No. 28 for the team. An accomplished veteran, Blackmon was signed at the beginning of training camp after the abrupt retirement of Tyrann Mathieu. Our choice for Saints Player of the Day, here's a closer look at the newest New Orleans defensive back. A three-star recruit at Layton High School, the University of Utah kept Blackmon at home in the recruiting battle. He started his career with the Utes at cornerback, where he played for his first three years. Blackmon had a team-high 4 interceptions from that position in 2017 and earned 2nd Team All-Pac-12 accolades in 2018 with 10 passes broken up and an interception return for a touchdown. Moving to safety as a senior in 2019, Blackmon responded with Pac-12 best 4 interceptions. He returned one of those for a score while forcing 2 fumbles and recording a career-best 60 tackles. An ACL injury prevented Blackmon from most pre-draft workouts in 2020, but didn't prevent the Indianapolis Colts from selecting him midway through the third round. He'd appear in 15 contests as a rookie, making 14 starts and intercepting 2 passes while breaking up 6 others and forcing a fumble. A torn Achilles knocked Blackmon out of the 2021 season after only six outings. He'd bounce back to start 11 of his 14 games in 2022, returning his only interception for a touchdown and notching his first career sack. The 2023 season was the best statistically to date for Blackmon. He had 4 interceptions and broke up 8 passes, both best on the team, with 5 of his 88 tackles resulting in negative yardage. He turned in another strong performance last year with a team-best 3 interceptions, 4 passes broken up, and 86 total tackles. Blackmon didn't get a ton of interest on the free agent market this offseason. That is, until the Saints came calling after Tyrann Mathieu decided to step away. He's expected to team with Justin Reid, another offseason signing, to give New Orleans an entirely new safety tandem on the back end. A natural free safety, Blackmon makes up for still-improving instincts with good range and excellent ball skills. His experience as a college corner also gives him some versatility to play the slot. Blackmon will turn just 27 before the start of the season, making he and Reid (28) the youngest and most athletic safety duo the Saints have had in a few years.
USA Today
07-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Veteran Minnesota Vikings CB facing a pivotal preseason ahead of 2025 campaign
The Minnesota Vikings are heading into the 2025 season with a very different team than the one that took the field in 2024 and almost came home with the NFC North crown. Gone is surprise star quarterback Sam Darnold. Gone are several key pieces on defense. In their place are a couple of second-year players whom a ton of eyes will be on this season. The obvious one, quarterback J.J. McCarthy, will get his first crack at running the Kevin O'Connell offense, and has been set up for success with the likes of wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison (once he returns from a three-game suspension), tight end T.J. Hockenson, and running backs Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason beside him. The other is perhaps a less obvious choice, but one that at least one prominent NFL writer is going to have his eyes on in 2025. Recently, Moe Moton of Bleacher Report identified seven players around the league who have the most at stake in the coming season, and one of his seven is none other than Vikings second-year cornerback Mekhi Blackmon. Blackmon is technically entering his third season, but his 2024 season -- much like McCarthy's -- was lost to a knee injury. That knee injury and a reportedly heated camp battle are what have Blackmon under the microscope in Moton's eyes. According to Moton, were it not for that knee injury, Blackmon "would be in a prime position to start after a promising first year in Minnesota". Instead, he's embroiled in a position battle with new Vikings Isaiah Rodgers and Jeffery Okudah to start alongside rising star Byron Murphy, Jr. According to The Athletic's Vikings beat writer Alec Lewis: "General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, O'Connell and Flores said they believed Rodgers could play an every-down role, and that they had a vision for Okudah. It's no surprise, then, that those two have played alongside Byron Murphy Jr. with the first-team defense." That doesn't sound too promising for Blackmon's prospects going forward. Still, he's likely built up some good will with the team after his rookie season, where he played in 15 of the 17 games, starting three, and was a solid contributor -- especially for a rookie. Blackmon only notched one interception in his rookie campaign. Still, he did have eight passes defended and one fumble recovery, and proved helpful at all levels of the defense, even adding three tackles for loss. How much opportunity Blackmon gets to build on his successful rookie season remains to be seen, but 2025 could prove to be a pivotal year one way or the other for the young cornerback. Blackmon heads into the third year of a four-year deal with the team, and the Vikings will likely be looking to decide on his future with the team based mainly on how this season shakes out for him.
USA Today
23-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What are the Saints getting in former Colts safety Julian Blackmon?
Just what are the New Orleans Saints getting in Julian Blackmon? It's easy to look at his biography. The 26-year old safety played college football at Utah and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts, where he started in all 62 games he played the last five years. He's had some injuries, but he's made some plays, too, with ten interceptions to his credit. But there's more going on here than that quick summary. What's his skill set, and what does he offer as the favorite to replace Tyrann Mathieu? To find out, I spoke with Colts Wire managing editor Paul Bretl. "Blackmon put together a career year in 2023, when the bulk of his playing time came at strong safety," Bretl told me. "He was a very reliable tackler that year and had good ball production with four interceptions and two pass breakups. This past season, Blackmon's production would dip, but he played through a shoulder injury for much of the year, and that injury was a factor in him moving back to more so playing free safety." That lines up with what I found after looking into Blackmon's alignment data from Pro Football Focus. PFF had him lining up in the box on 468 of his 987 total defensive snaps in 2023, compared to just 170 of his 1,084 snaps in 2024. He also missed 15 tackles last year compared to 7 missed tackles the year before. Maybe the shoulder issue was limiting Blackmon more badly last season than we first thought. From 2020 to 2022, his first three years in the league, he lined up in the box on just 173 of his 2,071 combined snaps. PFF charting found he missed 18 tackles in that three-year span. Now he's healthy and hoping to turn this one-year deal with the Saints into a career-changing contract extension. Blackmon has the skills and the experience to earn a big role in the New Orleans secondary. He just needs to stay on the field and do what he's done before to make the most of his opportunities. We'll be watching him.
USA Today
10-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ex-NFL DB says Steelers already found Minkah Fitzpatrick's replacement with veteran safety
Following the blockbuster Jalen Ramsey trade, everyone in the Steel City wants to know — who's going to replace Minkah Fitzpatrick? Former NFL DB turned analyst Will Blackmon apparently has all the answers — and it's the next man up in the Steelers' secondary, FS Juan Thornhill. On a recent episode of FS1's The Facility, Blackmon argued Thornhill's proven resume not only speaks for itself, but could help the Steelers where it matters most — the playoffs: 'I'm going to give you another name: Juan Thornhill, the safety that they got,' Blackmon said. 'He has 74 starts — two-time Super Bowl champion. So, you lose Minkah, but you got a leader back there who knows exactly what to do, who knows exactly what it takes to win championships. And so, I think wholeheartedly they got better. They got in a situation where they're gonna compete. I got them actually winning a playoff game this year and ending that drought.' Thornhill spent his first four years in the NFL with the Chiefs, winning two Super Bowls as the starting free safety. He ultimately signed with the Browns in 2023, but his time in Cleveland wasn't as successful — leading to his release this past February. He signed with the Steelers in March on a one-year, $3 million deal — and unless Pittsburgh signs another veteran free agent, he's set to play a major role in the secondary. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like.
NBC Sports
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC Sports
Will Blackmon joins the cast of Good Morning Football
The ever-changing cast of Good Morning Football has undergone another change. Via former NFL defensive back Will Blackmon has joined the cast for the upcoming season. A fourth-round pick from Boston College in 2006, Blackmon spent four years with the Packers, two with the Giants, two with the Jaguars, and two with the Commanders. He last played in the NFL in 2016. Blackmon was a member of the Super Bowl XLVI champion Giants. He had served on a rotating cast of contributors following the departure of Akbar Gbaja-Biamila after one season. Blackmon did enough to get the full-time gig. The show has been in a state of flux for most of the past year, with a surprising move of the production from New York to Los Angeles (and a 5:00 a.m. local start time) and the departure of multiple members of the cast, including Jason McCourty and Peter Schrager.
