Will Seahawks’ Boye Mafe reap rewards in Macdonald’s defense?

Aug 1, 2024, 2:54 PM

Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe...

Boye Mafe of the Seattle Seahawks rushes the passer during an Oct. 22, 2023 game. (Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

(Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

BY ZAC HERETH

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Seahawks saw flashes of what edge rusher Boye Mafe could be last season.

What Seattle Seahawks players are saying about Macdonald’s defense

After a quiet rookie year in 2022, Mafe broke out with a stellar showing during the first half of his sophomore campaign. The Minnesota product posted a run of seven straight games with a sack. He also had 10 quarterback hits, six tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble during the stretch.

However, Mafe’s production slowed down in the second half with just two sacks and two tackles for loss over the final eight games.

“Teams figured him out,” Mike Lefko said on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “Teams realized this is a guy that we gotta divert our attention to.”

Which version of the pass rusher will the Seahawks get in 2024? Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard and Lefko discussed the prospects of Mafe, who checked in at No. 7 on Brock and Salk’s annual countdown of the “Most Intriguing Seahawks.”

“Boye Mafe showed you through seven weeks last year with seven straight sacks that he can be a 40-home run guy,” Huard said. “Then obviously it went dry after that and there wasn’t much added to it, but can you be one of these elite double-digit sack guys? That’s really the line of delineation in the NFL.”

A high-upside prospect

The Seahawks selected Mafe in the second round of the 2022 draft after standout performances at the Senior Bowl and NFL scouting combine.

The Golden Valley, Minn., native developed into a solid contributor in his final two college seasons and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection as a senior in 2021, but it was the performances after his final game with Minnesota that created a buzz heading into the draft.

Mafe was named player of the game for the National Team with three tackles for loss, two sacks and one forced fumble during the Senior Bowl. He then showed off the elite athleticism he pairs with his 6-foot-4, 261-pound frame with a 4.53-second time in the 40-yard dash and 38-inch vertical at the combine.

“He’s got the raw tools and the goods to be a double-digit sack guy in this league,” Huard said.

Mafe was also ranked fifth on the 2020 college football Freaks List by The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. Here’s what Feldman had to say about Mafe:

Very few guys his size can jump the way the 6-4, 261-pounder can. His vertical is 40½ inches. That’s 4½ inches higher than any defensive lineman at the NFL combine this year. He can touch the top of the square on a basketball backboard.

But it’s not just his vertical. All of his numbers are head-turning. Mafe has broad jumped 10-6. He has run a 4.57 40. His 10-yard split is 1.58. His short shuttle is 4.3. He can power clean 400 pounds and squats 653. It’s just a whole lot of wow stuff.

A chance to shine in new D

In a recent interview with Brock and Salk, Mafe was enthusiastic about the cutting-edge defensive scheme brought over by new head coach Mike Macdonald.

“It’s probably gonna be the most versatile we’ve been used since I’ve been in Seattle, and I think that the biggest thing that I love about this defense is that you can do on so many different things in one spot,” Mafe said. “… However coach wants to use us, he can really just move us around and manipulate and make different pictures for the quarterback. Ultimately that’s going to help, especially for the pass rush.”

Macdonald’s defense is a big change from former head coach Pete Carroll’s scheme, which didn’t use much movement or deception to try and confuse quarterbacks. The creativity and illusion that goes into the scheme Macdonald runs helped the Baltimore Ravens lead the NFL with 60 sacks while having three players record nine or more last season.

“You got a system now with its versatility that should bring out the best in everybody,” Huard said.