Seattle Seahawks' Boye Mafe Making Star-Studded Leap for Potent Pass Rush

Continuing to blossom into one of the NFL's best young all-around edge defenders, as demonstrated in a dominant outing against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, learning from his mistakes has been vital to Boye Mafe's ascent for the Seattle Seahawks.

SEATTLE, Wash. - Moments after rookie receiver Jake Bobo demonstrated toe drag swag on an 18-yard touchdown to put the Seattle Seahawks back ahead 14-10 over the Arizona Cardinals late in the second quarter, opposing quarterback Joshua Dobbs methodically began marching his team down the field aiming to jump back in front.

Closing in on the two minute warning, Dobbs took a shotgun snap on 3rd and 4 from just short of midfield and immediately had pressure in his face courtesy of edge rusher Boye Mafe, who looped inside untouched on a tackle/end exchange stunt behind defensive tackle Dre'Mont Jones. With nothing standing between him and the quarterback, the second-year defender looked to have an easy sack gift-wrapped for him to bring the drive to a screeching halt.

However, as Mafe came screaming upfield, he made the mistake of leaving his feet, believing Dobbs was going to try to throw the ball and leaping in an effort to swat the pass down. Instead, the quarterback bolted to his right with the defensive end in midair, scrambling towards the sideline and slipping past the marker while going out of bounds for a new set of downs.

"He did jump when he shouldn't have," coach Pete Carroll said of Mafe's missed sack after the game. "The guy wasn't even throwing it. He still has stuff to learn. He had a clean sack opportunity that he kind of went airborne on it. He's got more to learn."

Boye Mafe / © Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Thankfully for Carroll and the Seahawks, as he has demonstrated throughout his brief time in the Pacific Northwest, Mafe is an astute learner who tends to not make the same mistake twice. Rather than dwell on the botched sack opportunity, he promptly moved on from the miscue and did what elite pass rushers do, redeeming himself by taking over at a crucial stage of the game to help his team eventually snag a 20-10 divisional victory at Lumen Field.

Following a holding penalty on left tackle Kelvin Beachum slid the Cardinals back 10 yards, Mafe shot upfield on a speed rush and ripped his way past first-round pick Paris Johnson Jr., tightly bending around the corner to smack Dobbs as he threw. The hit led to an ugly duck coming out of the quarterback's hand that landed nowhere near the intended receiver, setting up an ideal 3rd and 12 to rush the passer.

This swipe/rip combo by Boye Mafe against Paris Johnson is a thing of beauty. He beat the first-round pick back-to-back plays with the same combo counters, single-handedly destroying a potential scoring drive before halftime. #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/XvjCcKwLut

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) October 23, 2023

Not satisfied by narrowly missing out again on a sack for the second time on the drive, Mafe whipped Johnson again on the ensuing snap with another powerful swipe and rip combo, quickly collapsing down on Dobbs and bringing him down for an eight-yard loss that knocked the Cardinals out of field goal range. With a last gasp Hail Mary falling harmlessly to the turf as the clock expired, his dominant one-man show erased three points off the board and sent the visitors to the locker room empty handed.

"It was one of those things that we pride ourselves on," Mafe said of the Seahawks' defense coming through in clutch situations on Sunday. "It’s one of those things as a defensive player in this unit, we tell ourselves, no matter what the situation is, if they don’t score, they don’t win, and that’s what we have to say point, blank, period.”

In terms of consistency, Mafe has grown leaps and bounds compared to his rookie season, particularly in the pass rushing department. Coming out of Minnesota as a second-round pick, he only produced 10 pressures in the regular season in 2022, surprisingly cutting his teeth as a stout run defender off the edge after mostly being known for his quarterback hunting prowess in college.

This year, however, per Pro Football Focus charting, Mafe already has nearly doubled his pressure total from a year ago with 19 thus far. Most notably, thanks to his clutch tackle on Dobbs that thwarted a potential scoring drive for the Cardinals on Sunday, Mafe has registered a sack in four consecutive games, surpassing his full season total in only six games for the Seahawks.

Looking holistically at his numbers nearing the midway point of the 2023 season, Mafe has quietly emerged as one of the most productive edge rushers in the entire NFL. Out of 51 qualified defenders at the position, according to PFF, he ranks 12th in pass rush win rate, 15th in pass rush productivity, and ninth in true pass set pass rush win rate, putting him ahead of stars such as Khalil Mack of the Chargers and Haason Reddick of the Eagles in multiple categories.

While numbers have yet to be updated to reflect on his latest standout performance against Arizona, Mafe also entered Week 7 atop the leaderboard for edge defenders in ESPN's Pass Rush Win Rate at 33 percent. He also currently has PFF's 11th-best run defense grade among EDGE defenders, continuing to excel as an all-around player in coordinator Clint Hurtt's scheme and running with his first full-time starting opportunity.

As Carroll correctly pointed out, Mafe has yet to peak and still has plenty of room to improve both as a rusher and run defender. Believing he hasn't scratched the surface of his potential, the player acknowledged as much after the game, lamenting the missed sack on Dobbs where he inexcusably left his feet, a play he undoubtedly wishes he could have back.

But if Mafe has proven anything since joining the Seahawks, with him already being on the cusp of stardom spearheading a much-improved pass rush, he will take those mishaps to heart. Just as he did only a few plays later amending for his miss by sacking Dobbs to the delight of the 12s, he will use those learning moments as fuel to keep getting better for his team.

“Every day is a grind; we have to get better every day. There is never enough and you have never done enough on the job and you always have to keep progressing. I may have had a sack today, fourth game with a sack, but I feel as if I should’ve had more and I have to elevate my game and prepare myself to get even better.”