Winner No. 3 - Edge rusher Boye Mafe
12s were hoping Boye Mafe might have a breakout season in Year 2 and he seems to be doing so. Mafe isn't yet a consistent edge rusher throughout the entire game, but he might get there. With his size and speed, he has the ability to be a Micah Parsons-light player. And he was already very good against the run.
So far through five games - he missed Week 2 with an injury - he is tied for the team-lead with 4 sacks and 5 tackles for loss. He is third on the team in QB hits with 5. According to Pro Football Focus, Mafe was the 22nd-highest-graded edge rusher in the league prior to Week 7. The only reason he wasn't even higher was because of his coverage grade, and Mafe hadn't even been targeted in coverage so I am unsure why his grade would be poor.
Boye Mafe shuts it down on third down 😤
— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2023
📺: #AZvsSEA on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/iTs8HMaXlh pic.twitter.com/5j7fKpl8xP
In Week 7, Mafe had another sack (his fourth straight game with a sack), another tackle for loss, and he had a QB hit. The promise that he showed in the preseason when he was very often the best player on the field, seems to be coming to fruition in the regular season. Plus, he should only get better for Seattle over time so he could be the Seahawks' lead pass-rusher for years to come.
Mafe might not develop into the kind of player that opposing blocking schemes focus on, but he will be one of the better players on a top-end pass rush rotation. Or, heck. Maybe Mafe ends up having 10-plus sacks in each of the next 10 years.