12th Man Rising
FanSided

Seahawks DE Benson Mayowa could be the next Chris Clemons

By Geoff Shull

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 03: Benson Mayowa #91 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after the Raiders recovered a fumble against the Detroit Lions during the first quarter of an NFL football game at RingCentral Coliseum on November 03, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 03: Benson Mayowa #91 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after the Raiders recovered a fumble against the Detroit Lions during the first quarter of an NFL football game at RingCentral Coliseum on November 03, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Benson Mayowa is doing all the right things in training camp. He is ecstatic to finally be ‘the guy’ on the defensive line. What kind of ceiling does Mayowa have?

Benson Mayowa has been impressing all the right people thus far in camp. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Mayowa has been a ‘real nice surprise’ in the early goings. Could Mayowa be the next Chris Clemons?

The Seahawks desperately need another player like Clemons on the roster. He brought grit, leadership, veteran savviness and more than anything, consistent production. Across Clemons’s first 3 seasons with the Seahawks, he accumulated 33.5 sacks, 29 tackles for a loss and 7 forced fumbles.

Clemons was an absolute monster on the defensive line for the team. Before he was a Seahawk, not so much. During his first 5 seasons, he bounced around between 3 different organizations. During those 5 years, he started a grand total of 3 games. His cumulative stats across those 5 seasons read:

Tackles: 62

Sacks: 20

TFL: 17

QB hits: 27

He was a late bloomer. This is very similar to Benson Mayowa. Over Mayowa’s past 5 seasons he has bounced around 3 different teams as well. He has never been a consistent starter, more of a rotational piece. His stats across the last 5 seasons read:

Tackles: 115

Sacks: 20

TFL: 31

QB hits: 39

Looking at the stats, Mayowa is more accomplished coming in. Chris Clemons was never given an opportunity to show what he could do until Seattle, during his age-29 season. Seattle is doing the same for Benson Mayowa this year, during his age-29 season.

Last year, Mayowa had 7 sacks in the first 8 games. The team then elected to have the younger players get a larger percentage of the snaps with their playoff hopes out of reach. This resulted in Mayowa getting the lowest percentage of snaps since his rookie year in the NFL.

Don’t be surprised if Mayowa becomes a star in his second stint in Seattle. He has all the tools to do just that. He has phenomenal bend, great agility, an explosive first step, good speed and the burning hot desire to show he is a starter in this league.

Next. 3 reasons Seahawks might not reach potential in 2020. dark

My predicted stats for Mayowa for the Seahawks in 2020:

Tackles: 55

Sacks: 12.5

TFL: 10

QB hits: 22

Home/Seattle Seahawks News