Seahawks' Boye Mafe Reveals Key to Leap in Year 2

Evolving in every aspect of his game thanks to coaching and mentoring from former Seattle Seahawks legends, Boye Mafe has rocketed up the depth chart into a starting spot and looks primed for a big 2023 campaign.

RENTON, Wash. - Though they wound up making the playoffs, the Seattle Seahawks couldn't stop anyone running the football last season, surrendering nearly 150 rushing yards per game for a dreadful 30th overall ranking in the NFL.

If there was a bright spot while teams churned up big yardage against Seattle on a weekly basis, however, rookie Boye Mafe unexpectedly emerged as a capable edge setter. Viewed as a raw situational pass rusher coming out of Minnesota, the second-round pick gradually earned more playing time as his rookie season progressed, finishing with 41 combined tackles, 14 run stops, and a strong 72.6 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus.

With another full offseason under his belt, few, if any, players have taken a bigger leap forward than Mafe since training camp opened on July 26. Called the most improved player on the roster by Pete Carroll prior to last Thursday's preseason opener, he backed up his coach's bold statement with a strong performance against the Vikings, generating a pair of quarterback pressures and a tackle for loss in two defensive series.

“I felt like I had a solid game," Mafe told reporters following Sunday's training camp practice. "There is definitely some things that you got to improve on. You’re never perfect. You never have a 100 percent game, but I took solid strides. I definitely felt more comfortable out there. You’ll notice the little things in the game and in myself. It felt really good to be back on the field doing a full live rep. I haven’t tackled since last season, so getting one of those in felt really nice.”

After a strong start to camp, Mafe's ascendance continued on Thursday, highlighted by a play that drew praise from former Seattle star Michael Bennett, who was in the broadcast booth after assisting the defensive line as a volunteer coach earlier in the week. Only two plays after blowing up a 3rd and 1 run, he kept his outside shoulder free, knocked the opposing tackle several yards into the backfield before shedding the block, and chased down DeWayne McBride for a one-yard loss on an outside run.

When asked about the key to playing steady run defense, Mafe discussed the importance of the entire defense working cohesively together as a unit and handling their respective responsibilities with run fits. Most importantly, he preached trust and accountability with the "wingman" playing next to him each play.

“You can’t leave your wingman," Mafe said. "You have to be able to be next to them and do your job so that they can trust you and see you doing your job. If everyone does their job then we should be alright.”

It's not abnormal for the game to slow down for a player between their first and second seasons, but for Mafe, his growth hasn't simply been about the speed of the game decelerating in his favor. After learning in a trial by fire environment and under the tutelage of Bruce Irvin as a rookie, his mental approach to the game has transformed over the past several months, opening the door for him to make plays he wouldn't have last year.

After only producing three sacks and 10 pressures in 17 games as a rookie, Mafe went back to the drawing board this spring looking for ways to improve his speed and pass rushing approach. Calling pass rushing an "art form," he studied film diligently seeing what he did well and how he can improve his plan attacking NFL tackles, building his offseason plan to sharpen his hand usage, jump off the snap, and develop a more refined arsenal of counter moves.

Aided by the arrival of pass rushing coach BT Jordan, who joined the staff in March, as well as former Pro Bowl rusher Cliff Avril, Mafe has been a nightmare for Seattle's tackles to block during training camp. Seizing his opportunity to play with the first-team defense opposite of Uchenna Nwosu, he dominated in the team's mock scrimmage on August 4, generating two pressures, a sack, and a forced fumble before his strong outing against Minnesota to open exhibition play.

“It’s definitely different," Mafe remarked when asked about areas he has noticed advancement in his game. "It’s understanding situations and knowing what formations to look for, and what keys to look for. It’s a lot of different things in the game of football that you can key in on or that you can watch for. I definitely noticed that now I can see a lot more than I used to. I used to have one key now I have a lot of keys.”

With Darrell Taylor currently still sidelined by a strained shoulder suffered in practice earlier this month, Mafe has leapfrogged his veteran teammate as the clear front-runner to start for the Seahawks across from Nwosu with a more dynamic pass rushing toolbox and a better understanding of the game. He's relishing the opportunity to continue expanding his game alongside standouts such as Dre'Mont Jones and Jarran Reed.

Comfortable but far from content, Mafe understands plenty of work remains in front of him to not only secure a starting spot, but ensure that he sees a substantial uptick in playing time in a talented, competitive stable of young rushers. Heeding the advice he has received from Jordan, Bennett, Avril, Irvin, and others along the way, he's focused on not making the game too big and letting his pure talent coupled with enhanced preparation to play free as a rising defensive playmaker for the Seahawks.

“It’s been nice, understanding that the way the guys move, understand the gel and really getting that comfortability working with those guys," he said. "So that when game time happens, it’s not missing a beat, and that we can understand that we can work well together. A lot of them especially the veteran guys on that D-line, there’s a lot of veteran guys on the backer side, so working with them makes it a lot easier on myself.”

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