Bengals’ Boye Mafe offers caution about Shemar Stewart breakout
· Yahoo Sports
It’s really interesting to think about the parallels between Cincinnati Bengals edge rushers Shemar Stewart and Boye Mafe.
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The Bengals hope Stewart experiences a second-year leap in 2026 that justifies his first-round status.
And the Bengals hope that Mafe, a free-agent signing, can have a Trey Hendrickson-like jump next year.
Funnily enough, Mafe doesn’t think Stewart will have many problems, just going off his own personal experience. Specifically, Mafe made a huge second-year leap as a pro, booming all the way up to nine sacks.
"For me, the game slowed down," Mafe told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. "I started to get more of an understanding when you get the game to slow down, you're able to play more confident and free."
Mafe added: "I went from three sacks my rookie year to nine my second year. It can happen for anybody. I see that desire in him. He wants to improve his game. The sky's the limit for him.”
Bengals fans know the story by now: Stewart had all the upside in the world and little production in terms of sacks in college. His rookie season got derailed by a contract holdout, then various injuries.
Those are factors that would stunt any rookie’s growth. Mafe, though, sees the situation from an edge rusher’s perspective and, if nothing else, knows the upside that can be unlocked with the proper work and system alignment.
The Bengals sure hope they have that with Stewart.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals’ Boye Mafe offers caution about Shemar Stewart breakout