26-Year-Old Safety Signs Deal with the Saints
Last off-season, Indianapolis Colts safety Julian Blackmon signed a deal to return to the team. The Colts looked to make the playoffs after just missing their chance during the 2023 season. However, Indianapolis finished 8-9, second in the AFC South Division, and would be eliminated from playoff contention. Once again, a free agent, it’s been reported by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport that Blackmon has signed a deal with the New Orleans Saints.
Blackmon played at the University of Utah before his NFL playing days. At Utah, he spent the first three seasons as a cornerback before switching positions and playing safety. He was projected to go in the fourth or fifth round of the draft; however, the Indianapolis Colts selected Blackmon in the third round as the 85th pick during the 2020 NFL Draft. He was the eighth safety to be drafted during that 2020 draft. Blackmon was recovering from a torn ACL and was still able to make his debut during the second game of the 2020 NFL season. Since being drafted, Blackmon has been looking forward to seeing the late days of the NFL Playoffs, yet that hasn’t been the case. Indianapolis made the playoffs in 2020 and was quickly eliminated during the AFC Wild Card Round against the Buffalo Bills.
Last season, Blackmon played in 16 games. He recorded 84 combined tackles, 62 of those being solo tackles, while the other 24 were assisted tackles. He also had one tackle for a loss of yardage, a half sack, four pass deflections, and three interceptions. On October 20th, Blackmon had nine combined tackles in a 16-10 win over the Miami Dolphins. A few weeks later, on December 1st, the 26-year-old safety had five combined tackles along with a pass deflection and an interception during a 25-24 win. On the final game of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he also put up five combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception during a 26-23 win. With the Saints, Blackmon hopes to be used as a key asset on defense. He’s capable of putting in the work to achieve those high-end numbers on the field.
