3 Seattle Seahawks skyrocketing up depth chart before preseason Week 2

Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe

While Mafe was going up against mostly backup offensive linemen for the Vikings in preseason Week 1, he still looked like the best player on the field. He was constantly pressuring the quarterback and was around the ball when Minnesota ran as well. Mafe has also had a fantastic camp by all accounts and he was even the first-team starter during the mock game. But 2022 starter Darrell Taylor missed the mock game with an injury.

Mafe should already be overtaking Taylor on the depth chart, though. Taylor stinks against the run and currently Mafe is better against the run than he is trying to chase down the opposing quarterback. But Mafe has the size and speed to develop into a dangerous pass rusher while he is already sturdy against the run.

One of the reasons that the Seahawks struggled so much against the run in 2022, besides interior defensive linemen seemingly playing out of positions, was that Taylor began as a three-down edge rusher and constantly got run over. That won't be the case with Mafe. He is simply a lot stronger than Taylor and his base is so that he is much tougher to move.

Yet if Darrell Taylor is healthy by Week 1, Seattle might decide to play Taylor opposite fellow edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu. Seattle knows what they are going to get from Taylor and likely hopes he will be better against the run this year. But Mafe should be the starter as he has the bigger upside and he has a more well-rounded game than Taylor.

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