While the free agency fate of edge Jaelan Phillips hangs in the balance, the Philadelphia Eagles may soon be on the hunt for a solid alternative.
According to ESPN's Aaron Schatz, one signing he projects the Eagles to potentially make is Seattle edge Boye Mafe.
"The Eagles could use more help on the edge to rotate with Nolan Smith Jr. and Jalyx Hunt, and Mafe had an outstanding season for the Super Bowl champions in 2025. Although Mafe had only two sacks, he added 33 pressures. His 18.7% pass rush win rate was eighth among edge rushers and his 11.4% pressure rate was 17th. Mafe is quick and still in his prime, turning 28 in late November."
Eagles should consider going after Boye Mafe
As it stands, the current edge group is led by Hunt and Smith. Brandon Graham may still return to add depth, while the future of Phillips remains fluid. Bringing in a player like Mafe could be a sound gameplan should Phillips' price tag prove too costly.
A 2022 second-round pick by Seattle and former Minnesota Golden Gopher, Mafe is long (6-foot-4, 261 pounds) and disruptive. As Schatz noted, his ability to wreak havoc didn't show up in the form of sacks this past season, but his pass rush win rate and pressure rates both landed in the top 20 for edge rushers leaguewide.
Seattle has a slew of high-end free agents to tend to who figure to be hot commodities on the market, including Kenneth Walker, Coby Bryant, Rashid Shaheed, and Riq Woolen. Retaining Mafe, who is projected per Spotrac to command just over $12 million per year in his next deal, just doesn't sound feasible for the defending champs. Furthermore, they have a promising cast of pass rushers to carry the load should he leave, including Derrick Hall, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Uchenna Nwosu.
Mafe's production did take a hit this past season, as he lost snaps to the trio of Lawrence, Hall, and Nwosu. But with a combined 15 sacks in the two seasons prior, Mafe has shown he can get after the quarterback with gusto.
Read more: Eagles' second-round tradition would prove to be perfect move in 2026 NFL Draft
And still just 27 years old, it's realistic to envision Mafe ramping his production back up under the tutelage of Vic Fangio, especially with more snaps. Should Phillips land elsewhere in free agency, the addition of Mafe could help comprise a solid edge group with Hunt, Smith, and potentially Graham.