The Seattle Seahawks selected Gophers defensive lineman Boye Mafe in the second round with the 40th overall pick in this year's NFL draft on Friday night.
Mafe is the first Minnesota defensive lineman taken in the draft since Ra'Shede Hageman went to the Falcons in the second round in 2014 and the highest-drafted Gophers defensive end since Bud Grant, whom the Eagles selected 14th overall in 1950.
"It was euphoric," Mafe said of getting the draft call. Sitting at home with his family, he missed the Seahawks' first call, but picked it up on their second attempt.
"It meant the world to have everyone around me," Mafe said. "It's not just me. It takes a village to raise a child, and so having them all here and the fact that every one of them helped me along this path, it meant the world."
Mafe headlined a Gophers defense that ranked third nationally in total defense last year. He led the team in sacks and tackles for loss each of the past two seasons, recording 11½ sacks and 16 tackles for loss across those 18 games. His efforts in 2021 earned him spots on the media All-Big Ten second team and the coaches All-Big Ten third team.
The Hopkins High School alum further shot up draft boards after a monstrous predraft season. In February, he won MVP honors at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., with two sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble. He then posted a 42-inch vertical jump at the Gophers' pro day last month and a 4.53 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
Mafe was a three-star recruit coming out of Hopkins, and he redshirted in 2017 before playing 10 games for the Gophers in 2018. He had 12 tackles that season, finishing strong with six in Minnesota's Quick Lane Bowl victory over Georgia Tech. As a sophomore in 2019, Mafe's role expanded, and he played in all 13 games, collecting three sacks and 14 tackles, as the Gophers went 11-2, won the Outback Bowl and finished No. 10 in the final Associated Press poll.
Mafe's athleticism was on display in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, when he had 4½ sacks among his 27 tackles in seven games, stats that would have projected to 50 tackles and eight sacks in a 13-game season.
Because of the NCAA's decision not to charge players a year of eligibility for the 2020 season, Mafe could have returned to the Gophers in 2022, but he decided it was his time to take the next step.
"The biggest thing I've realized in this process is that my best ball is in front of me," Mafe said during the Gophers pro day. "I played great for the Gophers and had a great career here, but I'd say my best ball is still in front of me. I feel like I haven't tapped into my full potential yet, so that's been my selling point to NFL teams.''
He joins a Seahawks team noted in recent history for its defense, namely the Legion of Boom that helped Seattle win Super Bowl XLVIII.
"I can't wait to get in there and learn from the legacy," Mafe said. "It's time for me to go take on a key role, and the biggest thing is to keep filling those shoes and even making them bigger."
Star Tribune writer Randy Johnson contributed to this report.
