Seattle Seahawks EDGE Boye Mafe Wants to Eliminate Plays 'Left on the Table'

Even after a breakout, nine-sack season in 2023, that's not where Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe's focus lies. Instead, he wants to maximize every play.

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe (53) tackles Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) late in the fourth quarter during their game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023. The Tennessee Titans were unable to make a comeback as the clock ran out and they lost 20-17. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA

In his second NFL season, Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe was difficult to contain. The 2022 second-round pick broke out for nine sacks after posting three as a rookie.

Mafe, however, isn’t measuring his success in sacks or statistics. His goal is simply to “be better” than he was last season, and that starts by improving his pre-snap reads, Mafe said. That will also be especially crucial in head coach Mike Macdonald’s system because of pre- and post-snap movement.

“There’s a lot of things that happen pre-snap that can give you tells and things that you can see beforehand,” Mafe told reporters after Seattle’s first padded training camp practice on Monday. “One of the things, especially from last year, I noticed there were plays that I felt like I left on the table.”

When asked about his nine sacks from a year ago, Mafe quoted one of his former teammates at the University of Minnesota, Micah Dew-Treadway: “Don’t mistake activity for achievement.”

“I always take that to heart because, to me, that means that no matter what you’re doing, there is always more,” Mafe said. “It’s cool to have an achievement … but at the essence that’s just activity. Your achievement is something greater. To me, it was a year of activity.”

Mafe improved in nearly every area in 2023, but he also saw twice the number of snaps from his rookie season. He still has plenty of room to improve, particularly in run defense, but he has never dodged that notion.

In addition to his sack totals, Mafe compiled 51 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, six passes defensed, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He will also have edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu back healthy and opposite of him, coupled with an improved interior defensive line. All those factors could lead to another jump in production for the 25-year-old.

When watching film, Mafe said he is “very hard” on himself as he tries to improve. One of his favorite things about his current teammates is how everyone else feels the same.

“That’s the thing I love about this team,” Mafe added. “We all hold each other to a very high standard, and we expect greatness out of everybody in the room.”