Boye Mafe

Context

Plays as the stand-up 9 technique most often in a 4-3 over front. Does rush inside to give him the chance to loop out but infrequently, does drop in coverage.

Pass Rush

Has a really good get off and is an explosive athlete. His 2^nd/3^rd steps are very good and he gets upfield in a hurry. He is unrefined in his rush plan currently. He has so many tools to win and get to the QB but they’re not yet strung together effectively snap to snap or over the course of a gameplan, Too often, patient OL who manage to maintain the half-man relationship are dictating to him, rather than the other way around. When facing OL with good hand usage and who don’t over-balance, his initial club against outside strikes can be poorly timed and placed, then he’s unable to counter. His hands are not yet polished and can be a little erratic. Having said that, there is much to like about his pass rush potential. His hands, while unpredictable, are active, fast and powerful – he’s a handful to deal with, even when there is little plan to what he’s doing. There is remarkable power in his hands when he manages to get the OT unbalanced through his initial moves and come back to strike him after this.

He has the beginnings of a push-pull move and you can see him turning blockers to be able to deploy his hands effectively to turn the corner. He has a two-hand swipe that can clear hands effectively and is well placed, and he has power in a long-arm move that he can’t yet string into another move to disengage. He can’t go through or inside Offensive Linemen yet, as he doesn’t convert speed to power effectively. When he does get to the corner, his real potential shows itself, he is a bendy and twitchy pass-rusher. He has excellent body-control to corner without losing speed, his hip and ankle flexion allow him to stay angular and leveraged. He will use a tight swim move at the apex of his rush, which might be deployed a little too often but it’s effective. He corners effectively and brings his closing speed into play on the QB. Physically tough, aggressive and relentless motor – will chase plays far down the field.

Vs Run

As a front-side run defender when setting the edge, he plays with discipline and can get into you first with his hands with good placement. He shows good technique but currently his relative lack of core strength means he can’t squeeze his gap at the point of attack. OTs with good play strength can widen him and create a serviceable inside running lane. As a back-side run defender, even when consistently targeted with cut-off blocks, he shows off his lateral movement and discipline.

He processes well, seeing cut-off blocks coming and working to avoid them. He has pretty loose hips, good reactive athleticism and moves well in space, covering RBs out in space and more athletic backs downfield in phase.

SUMMARY
Twitchy, bendy, all-potential pass rusher who could be dangerous if taught how to plan. Disciplined edge-setter, effective back-side defender who needs to add more core strength.

PRODUCTION
SR: 7 Sacks, 9 QB Hits, 29 Total Tackles, 1 FF
JR: 6 Sacks, 2 QB Hits, 18 Total Tackles, 2 FF, 1 Batted Ball
INJURY: None

RAVENS FIT
Athleticism 5
Intelligence 3
Versatility 4
Grit 5
Scheme 4