Boye Mafe has been a fantastic NFL free agency signing for the Bengals

On the first day of free agency in March, the Bengals made two splashes with signing edge rusher Boye Mafe and safety Bryan Cook. Both won Super Bowls with their previous teams, and both players are entering the prime of their careers.

In particular, Mafe has given the Bengals exactly what they paid for… and more.

“Right now, it’s a mindset to go out there and show who I can be as a player,” Mafe said after Sunday’s win over Miami. “With the coaches trusting me to be that player, it’s up to me to uphold that in my end of the bargain.”

Mafe signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the Bengals in free agency. Through five games, Mafe has three sacks, five tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one pass defensed. Sunday in Miami, Mafe had a sack, a tackle for loss, two quarterback hits, and a pass defensed. Mafe also pressured Malik Willis and forced a wobbly pass that Jordan Battle intercepted.

“He has a lot of juice, man,” defensive tackle BJ Hill said. “He can get after the quarterback. He can do it all. He’s the guy you want on your team. I knew we had something special when he got here. He’s a different cat,” Hill said. “He’s just different. That’s all I can say. You’ll have to ask him. He’s different. You love to have that energy. You love having guys like that.”

It’s also the stats you don’t see on Mafe that stand out. Mafe’s PFF grade Sunday was 88.0, the highest of his career. His second-highest was in Week 1 this season at 86.5.

In addition, Mafe’s 77.1 pass-rushing grade is tied for 13th among 103 edge players who’ve played in at least 20% of their team’s defensive snaps. Among all NFL players, his 25 pressures rank sixth.

Mafe is 27 years old, which is the same age Trey Hendrickson was when the Bengals signed him in free agency in 2021. But Mafe brings far more versatility than Hendrickson. He can defend the run, pressure the quarterback, and cause turnovers. Look no further than his strip-sack of Baker Mayfield in the fourth quarter of Week 1.

“He’s willing to do anything,” Zac Taylor said about Mafe. “Stop the run. Drop. Rush. Rush inside … That didn’t surprise me. That’s what we were banking on, that he’d give you that type of effort. He’s completely bought in.”

Finishing has been an issue for the Bengals’ defense in recent seasons. Who’s their closer? It’s a question we asked a lot in those recent seasons, but Mafe could be that for this team.

“He has come in and been extremely competitive from Day 1,” said left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who faced Mafe in 2023 when Mafe was with the Seahawks and played against him throughout training camp this summer. “He’s just a really good and smart football player who knows when to show up. What’s most impressive is some of the clean wins that he has. He figures out a way to finish. That’s a sign of a great defensive end. It’s crazy. I feel like he has gotten better even since he got here.”

While Dexter Lawrence grabbed a lot of the headlines this offseason in the Bengals’ signings and trades, Mafe may turn out to be their most important signing. So far, the Bengals are getting a great return on investment with him.