Ross

Blacklock

Blacklock will begin his time with the Jaguars on their practice squad, but has a chance to be elevated to the 53-man roster at some point during the season. A second-round pick from the 2020 draft class, Blacklock hasn’t lived up to his day-two draft capital, but still has 40 games of NFL experience and a handful of starts.

Blacklock saw his contract restructured by the Vikings earlier this offseason but will be left off the team’s 53-man roster. The veteran defensive tackle has appeared in 40 games through his first three years in the league and played in 11 games for the Vikings last season. The former second-rounder could catch on with another team as added depth now that he’s available. In addition to cutting Blacklock, the Vikings also waived DL Sheldon Day.

Blacklock took a pay cut of roughly $683k that can be earned back through incentives next season. A former second-round pick of the Texans in 2020, Blacklock has played in 40 games through three seasons and was acquired by the Vikings last season in a swap of late-round picks.

The two sides are swapping late-round picks. Here’s how the Vikings are looking to replace the lost snaps on the interior when they cut DT Armon Watts on Tuesday. Blacklock was the No. 40 overall pick in 2020 and appeared in 29 games for the Texans across his two seasons there. He’ll be part of the rotation inside alongside Harrison Phillips for Minnesota.

A two-year starting nose tackle at TCU who declared after a 9.0 TFL and 3.5 sack redshirt junior season, Blacklock lived up to his top-250 high school recruit ranking by being named a Freshman All-American. He then missed his entire sophomore year with an Achilles injury, fortunately rebounding as a second-team All-Big 12 selection in 2019. Blacklock relies on burst and agility as an interior rusher but has room to grow both physically and with his technique, particularly with his hand usage. Despite a disappointing 21st percentile performance at the NFL Combine, Blacklock profiles as a three-tech with high-energy as a pass rusher and questionable power against the run.

The Texans need all the help they can get on the defensive side of the ball after allowing a league-worst 6.1 yards per play in 2019. Blacklock (6’3"/290) was a two-year starting nose tackle at TCU who declared after a 9.0 TFL and 3.5 sack redshirt junior season. He lived up to his top-250 high school recruit ranking by being named a Freshman All-American, then missed his entire sophomore year with an Achilles injury, but fortunately rebounded as a second-team All-Big 12 selection last season. He relies on burst and agility as an interior rusher but has room to grow both physically and with his technique, particularly with his hand usage. Despite a disappointing 21st percentile performance at the NFL Combine, Blacklock profiles as a three-tech with high-energy as a pass rusher and questionable power against the run.

The Texans need all the help they can get on the defensive side of the ball after allowing a league-worst 6.1 yards per play in 2019. Blacklock (6’3/290) was a two-year starting nose tackle at TCU who declared after a 9.0 TFL and 3.5 sack redshirt junior season. He lived up to his top-250 high school recruit ranking by being named a Freshman All-American, then missed his entire sophomore year with an achilles injury, but fortunately rebounded as a second-team All-Big 12 selection last season. He relies on burst and agility as an interior rusher but has room to grow both physically and with his technique, particularly with his hand usage. Despite a disappointing 21st percentile performance at the NFL Combine, Blacklock profiles as a three-tech with high-energy as a pass rusher and questionable power against the run.

Earlier on Friday, Pelissero reported that the Colts are also exploring moving down, so it appears the first two selections on Friday are both up for grabs. The Bengals have also been rumored to be interested in TCU DT Ross Blacklock as well as Baylor WR Denzel Mims. This is considered a loaded Day 2 of the draft, so Cincinnati may feel they can still get their player and acquire more capital by moving down a few spots in the draft. Stay tuned.

Blalock (6'3/290) checks all the boxes in terms of possessing the requisite athleticism at the next level, but scouts have indicated a desire to see those traits show out on a more consistent basis. A relentless pass-rusher, Blalock can be hit-or-miss as a run stopper at times. An achilles injury cut short his 2018 campaign, but Blalock managed to largely regain his old form upon his return last season. Blalock would certainly help plug a hole on the Bengals’ porous defensive line.

Blacklock (6'3/290) notched 4.97 seconds unofficially on his first run. He will have a shot at bettering that on his second run. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler wrote earlier this month that the TCU standout “checks the boxes for size, core strength and athleticism,” though he would like to see his athleticism play a little more consistently on the field.