Boye Mafe is wasting no time leaning into the different ways the Bengals are using him on defense.
After Friday’s practice, the newest name in Cincinnati’s defensive mix said he’s enjoying the chance to move around and show more than one side of his game. That means work as a coverage player, work as a pass rusher, and work in a tweaked outside linebacker role that asks for more than just getting after the quarterback.
“Obviously they're giving me the versatility to show the versatility of the athlete I am in different ways,” Mafe said at his locker. “If I'm dropping the coverage, if I'm pass rushing, playing the run, doing all types of things. So I do appreciate the fact that they're trusting me and letting me go out there and be the player I can be.
“It just shows how much of a player you can be. In football, the world, we always say the more you can do. And if there's more I can do, if there's more I can learn, and stuff that can make you a better player, why not?”
Mafe has already had some experience dropping into coverage with the Seahawks last season, but that was only part of the picture. He played 555 of his 558 defensive snaps on the line of scrimmage, so this version of his role in Cincinnati is a different kind of test.
Still, he says the transition makes sense for him because he’s spent his career as a front-seven player. The fifth-year defender pointed back to his time at Minnesota and in the NFL, while also noting that he did get some exposure to coverage work in Seattle.
“I've always been a D-lineman my whole career. Played in the front at Minnesota and in the NFL,” Mafe noted.
“I've always been the D-lineman, so you know it's a new world. But I dropped a little bit in Seattle.
I did coverage in Seattle, so I know some things. I actually do know how to drop.
I know how to cover, but obviously, they're used in different ways.”
Beyond his own role, Mafe likes what he sees from the defense as a whole. He said the group has the talent and depth to keep things moving no matter who’s on the field, with the goal of making the whole operation feel smooth from top to bottom.
“The team has talent. We have the guys in the room,” Mafe stated about finding depth across the whole defense.
“If it's ones, twos, threes, when they're going out there, we're going out there. And the point is, we want to make it seamless.
We want to have that next man up mentality.”
For Mafe, the appeal is simple: more responsibility, more ways to contribute, and more chances to show what he can do. He’s ready for that to carry over once the games start.
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