Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - EDGE SPLASH! Bengals Add Boye Mafe to Boost Pass Rush

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Cincinnati Bengals have made their second free agency splash on the defensive line. A Super Bowl champion, Boye Amafé. Come on down. You are locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What up Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day in the number one sports podcast network in the land. he is still James Rupine.

Starting point is 00:00:36 I am still Jake Lusco, and this is our second episode in the last hour. The Bengals going fast and furious in free agency, and shortly after news breaks that they're signing Brian Cook, news breaks that they're signing, Bois Maffe, the former Seattle Seahawks, Eddrusher, 27 years old, a three-year, $60 million deal to bolster the past rush.

Starting point is 00:00:59 And we tried to tell people, James, we thought that this was going to be a busy day. I have gotten up from this chair once so far today, maybe twice. It's been that kind of day, and I'm not complaining one bit. I like both of the moves the Bengals have made today. I'm excited for the Boy A Mafet signing. This is a guy that we talked about a lot. And comparing it to the $30 million Jailun Phillips deal, the $25 million Adafé OA deal,

Starting point is 00:01:26 the Bengals get Mafei for $20 million per year over three years. your first thoughts James Rapine well first things first you compare it to the Phillips deal and you're like oh my goodness the Phillips deal is the one right like I got I got nervous after that one man I was like oh it's going to be that kind of day huh yeah yeah and so for them they clearly were in on John Franklin Myers I think you can see that like the writing was on the wall they were in on that we know how much they've just been thirsty in the middle of a desert for an interior presence from a pass rush standpoint. So they wanted Franklin Myers, we knew that he was likely going to the Titans because of his jets connections with Robert Sala,

Starting point is 00:02:08 and that's exactly what happened. And so I think they pivoted. I think they were always in on Cook and make sure you check out our instant reaction to Cook. And then you look at it, you're like, well, they need pass rush and they're flying. And I think they instantly pivoted and said, all right, we're going to go get this 27-year-old, will be 28 November, guy that when he was 25, have had nine sacks and double-digit quarterback hits. And like there are going to be a lot of people that look at the sacks this past year, Jake, and say, well, he only had two sacks. And that's going to be something that's going to be discussed and written about and talked

Starting point is 00:02:41 on social media. I had a lot of worries, had a lot of pressures. You still felt him. And he gets the opportunity now to come to Cincinnati and be part of the solution, part of the fix. And it's wild. They've added three Super Bowl rings. That's going to be a narrative that certainly does.

Starting point is 00:02:58 discussed three Super Bowl rings in about 30 minutes with Brian Cook, two Super Bowls, and then Moffey with his one Super Bowl with the Seahawks. But yes, he has juice. I went and pulled up his relative athletic score from draft day or from the pre-draft process. And, you know, he runs a four or five. You might be able to put him out wide. Cody Ford, your job is over. It's over as a receiver because Mafei can, he can run like T. Higgins out there.

Starting point is 00:03:21 And so he's going to bring some juice off the edge, no doubt. I mean, if you get a step from Samar Stewart, your NASCAR package featuring Shamar Miles and Boyet Mafet put some real physical some real imposing presences on the field. That's a big if and that's why you go get Mafay. But like you said, he had a 98th percentile 40-yard dash, a 98th percentile-ish 10 yards split, a 92nd percentile broad jump,

Starting point is 00:03:45 91st percentile vertical. Just a real explosive player in that Joseph Osai, size, size bodies around 265 pounds, 6-3. I think he's an inch shorter than Osai. same weight. He's a power rusher, and we're going to talk about those sack numbers, obviously. But there's a great cut up from Anthony, who is a cover one guy, pro underscore underscore aunt on Twitter that I retweeted right around the time we were recording this.

Starting point is 00:04:16 It shows off some of how he plays as a pass rusher. The past rushing production has been there for him in categories that are not sacks. And we will break that down. But his ability to win from multiple positions on the defensive line, you can play him on the left, you can play him on the right, he's going to win with his hands. He's not going to generally try to win with agility and running around a guy. He's going to try to punch you in the face a little bit, go through you or knock you off him and clear a pass to the quarterback. And I think the other thing to note is that there's a big schematic change in Seattle that is kind of evident when Mike McDonald arrives. But this is a guy that's been consistently getting after the passer for three years.

Starting point is 00:04:57 has good, consistent pass rush data for three years in the NFL and as a three-down player, which is one of the reasons when we were talking about the defense event targets. I was so in for Boyam-Afe. This is one of the guys that I think I talked about as the target throughout the last couple of weeks when we've been previewing free agency. So we'll keep talking. We'll wrap this one up here. And you have a thought that you're eager to share so you can do that coming up next.

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Starting point is 00:06:43 Two big free agent signings on day one of free agency. Well, maybe you want to get some tickets and maybe you don't want to deal with hidden fees, jumping prices and endless steps. That's why today's episode is brought to you by game time. That's why you should use game time. It gives fancy advantage and makes getting tickets simple, whether it's a Bengals game, whether it's a concert, a comedy show, or whatever you're into wherever you are. You can jump into the Game Time app and check out tickets for an event of any sort,

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Starting point is 00:07:52 and let's start here like at baseline there weren't any consensus tier one free agents even tyler linderbom who was at the top mike santaggett had a 1.5 on him and so you me joe had him at a one but the one guy that might have been a one across the board not george pickins no none of these guys and what a crazy deal the title of linderbob deals that's a conversation for another time but man did that blow me away and so like like trey hendrickson we we all had him at a one point 5 across the board and we think highly of Trey but a just why he's a 1.5 and not a 1. And so when you look at it, I put these two guys together. Like I don't think you can talk about and you obviously can't talk about but talk about Maffa and not look at it and say well they got

Starting point is 00:08:38 Mafay and Cook. They got the top safety who we had in tier two and then they get Maffa tier two and a half across the board. All of us agreed on Maffa where he was at and it's it might be the same upside as a pass rusher compared to O.A or Phillips and in less risk because you're not committing two more piggy banks full for OA or two more Brinks trucks full for Phillips to get those guys to town. Like it makes a ton of sense. I think there's some risk here at the same time he has been productive. He has, it has translated more so than Osai. And I want to make that clear. Like I think he's less risky than Osai.

Starting point is 00:09:20 Obviously, he costs more for a reason. and, you know, Saia ain't his deal with the Jets. Fine. Hopefully it works out. But Maffei should be able to come in and make an instant impact and bolster this pass rush. And who knows, maybe there is another gear, two gears, three gears that he can get to. I would love that. He certainly got a lot of physical ability and the Bengals clearly saw that.

Starting point is 00:09:41 He is a guy that's only going to really play outside of the tackle, which I think is noteworthy, something we can talk about. But you can go all the way back to 2023. And Boye Maffa would have had the second highest pass for rush. win rate and true pass that pass rush win rate for either the Bengals or the the the Seahawks. So Mafei in 2023 in his second year in the NFL had a 20% pass rush win rate. Trey Hendrickson that year was at 26.7% on true pass sets. In 2024, it was 17% for Mafei.

Starting point is 00:10:13 Again, Trey Hendrickson better than that in the mid-20s and very similar in 2025. when Trey was on the field much less due to injury. But Maffei, 17.6 to 25.7 for Trey in Trey's defensive player of the year-like season when he was second in the running. And what changed for Maffay from 23 to 24 was the arrival of Mike McDonald. Mike McDonald likes to dial up a lot of five-man pressures. And that changes your role. You saw some people talking about the defensive lineman's job in a Brian Flores defense, which, again, is very blitz heavy.

Starting point is 00:10:48 And they're using defensive linemen to try to free up blitzers or using blitzers to try to free up defensive linemen at times. Or using more of disguise to try to free up past rushers and go win a one-on-one. And there's certainly some of that in Seattle where there is some of that rush for stuff. And Boya Mafia was part of that as he continued to be one of the top winners on that defensive line with really good defensive tackles around him. And we'll see what it looks like for him when he's removed from that environment. But if they're asking him to get up field and do less of like go win a one-on-one, then that will potentially impact his win rate numbers if that kind of role is changing. So it's not like he's never had production in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:11:30 He's had a nine-sack season, a PFF-9-sack season. They don't do half-sax. And a six-sack season before the two last year. So it's not like there's never been production for him, but he's been a very steady performer as a pass rusher. And he's a good run defender too. he's that three down player, a really good number two. So if they can get one of those top end rushers in the draft to be an alpha pass rush or if Miles Murphy or Samar Stewart take that step,

Starting point is 00:11:56 then you're feeling really, really good about the depth you have a defensive end. I don't think they're done by any means here adding to this position, whether it's free agency or the draft, but Mafei, I think, will be their big acquisition at the position. And I'm a fan of the move overall. I was a fan of Mafé going into the process. and I'm excited to see how he fits in in Cincinnati. Yeah, I think about the waves that Al Golden discussed at the combine,

Starting point is 00:12:24 like waves of pass rushers and the potential there that you can have and that they're, I think, hoping to have. And a big thing for the Bengals is run defense and being able to do that at an adequate or better level. I think that's part of why they did get frustrated. I know that's why I can say it now. to dress it up. That's why they got frustrated with Trey at times, right? Because they didn't view him as a guy that that was going to matter there. Now, obviously, he was arguably the best pass rush on the planet at times too. And so you keep him on the field, you put him on the field and it's worth it.

Starting point is 00:13:00 But they were always looking for complete guys. And especially when you look at this, trying to find, I don't want to say the middle, because that's not it, right? Like when you say all the middle of free agency, because Mafei is like the third best edge rusher. Like he's not the middle. Like if you wanted to say Phillips and then O-Way, then it's Moffay. Or Trey too, but yeah. But Trey's just, you know. He's not in consideration for the bankers.

Starting point is 00:13:27 Correct. We know that's not happening. So I, but yes, it's not the middle yet. And so I do wonder, will they add another one? But I'm excited for them to do this. These two moves back to back like this. it backs up everything we've heard. It backs up the seriousness they've had that they're attacking with.

Starting point is 00:13:48 And there's more there. There's more they can do. And they have the resources to do it. And I hope they do because the guys are out there. Obviously, there's plenty of other things that they can, hopefully will address on this defense. I went into this period, Jake, thinking, if you could get five starter level players, and they've gotten two of them. and two that will start week one, guaranteed, rock solid, lock it in.

Starting point is 00:14:15 And that's a beautiful thing, less than five hours in. And really, they did it roughly four hours into the negotiating window. Yeah, I mean, they've gotten two of our top 20 free agents, according to our tier list overall. That obviously will vary depending on what free agent ranking you look at. They're the only team that has signed two external guys at the top of this list. As far as I can tell, I guess, no, yeah, the Jets. I mean, Breeze Hall is going back to the Jets. So, yeah, they're the only team that has signed two guys from other teams at the top of this list.

Starting point is 00:14:45 So while it took them a few hours to get going this morning, James, this morning, my time anyway, they, I think, have come through on their promised aggression, making two big signings here on day one of free agency with work left to be done, finding guys that will agree to their structure. I think that's probably why they weren't in on O.A. We'll probably talk about that a little bit more later today. But I'm honestly a fan of these two moves. And we'll see what the rest of free agency brings. But in a vacuum, I like these two moves.

Starting point is 00:15:20 And obviously time will tell in all those things. But a nice start for the Bengals here so far on day one of free agency. If there is another move, we will be back with you. Otherwise, we'll be back with you later tonight to recap day one of the free agency period here on the lockdown Bengals podcast. Until next time, thanks for listening to this episode. today and have a good one

Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - EDGE SPLASH! Bengals Add Boye Mafe to Boost Pass Rush

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