Boye Mafe Making Star-Studded Leap for Seahawks?

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.

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.”