Benson Mayowa, Darrell Taylor Form Intriguing LEO Tandem for Seahawks
Due to the uncertainty still surrounding Jadeveon Clowney’s future, the Seahawks have put forward a generally underwhelming offseason up to this point. However, they haven’t necessarily sat on their hands in regards to addressing their glaring need for pass rush following a disappointing 2019 campaign in which Rasheem Green’s meager 4.0 sacks led the entire team.
With the signings of veterans Bruce Irvin and Benson Mayowa, as well as adding rookies Darrell Taylor and Alton Robinson, one could argue that, while there isn’t apparent star power in the group, this may be a deeper unit than the one the Seahawks boasted in 2019. For now, the future contributions of these four players - specifically Irvin, Mayowa, and, to a degree, Taylor - are what will ultimately make or break Seattle’s offseason.
Two of the aforementioned names, Mayowa and Taylor, appear to be in line to share reps at one of Seattle’s most prized defensive positions, the LEO defensive end role. While Mayowa has mainly served as no more than a solid rotational piece throughout his career and Taylor is a mere rookie second round draft pick yet to play his first NFL snap, the makeup of both players suggests a potentially strong combination at the position.
As a player, Mayowa has matured quite a bit since his last stint with the Seahawks in 2013. Since then, the eight-year veteran has gotten to the quarterback 20 times, with 11 of those sacks coming in the last two seasons alone. Mayowa is a highly intelligent pass rusher with good burst off the line of scrimmage and strength to overpower opposing right tackles.
Additionally, while Mayowa has historically received fringe-average grades for his run defense by Pro Football Focus, his athleticism really shines through in his ability to move blockers off the point of attack to find his way into the backfield or move outside to halt the rush. The way Mayowa has proved to be able to maneuver with his large 6-foot-3, 265-pound frame, coupled with how refined his technique has become over the last couple of years, leads me to believe there may be bigger and better things for him ahead.
The most snaps Mayowa has seen in a season came in 2018 with 550 on a bad Cardinals team, and though his career-highs came a year later in Oakland, it may have been his overall best season to date. Now, with all this experience and success under his belt and a clear path to significant playing time in Seattle, Mayowa could be in line to put everything together for a true breakout season.
This all, of course, depends on how the development of Taylor goes whenever training camp finally gets underway. For now, the second round selection out of Tennessee appears poised to at least split LEO duties with Mayowa fairly evenly, with hopes that he can eventually establish himself as the clear-cut starter. Taylor has all the tools to be the Seahawks’ ideal LEO, offering an excellent combination of strength, speed, athleticism, and intangibles.
The thing that will likely hold Taylor back from busting right out of the gate is the consistency - or lack thereof - in his approach. As his college tape suggests, his explosiveness and bend certainly will get him home more often than not, but there were many occasions where Taylor was simply overmatched by better quality linemen who completely eliminated him from the equation.
This does cause a bit of concern for how effective Taylor will be at shedding blocks in the run game, though there’s reason to believe he should ultimately be able to handle his own. In several instances, Taylor was able to win at the line and get off his block to disrupt the run or make the stuff himself. Taylor will have to fire off a bit quicker and more decisively to find his way in the backfield consistently, but these flashes of dominance seem to indicate eventual success in all facets of his game.
Taylor also possesses good sideline-to-sideline speed that helps him effectively move laterally with the play and stay in line with the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage. Similar to the lower points of his pass rushing tape, however, Taylor showed the tendency to be easily sealed off at times by players he should, in theory, outmatch.
While it would be inaccurate to say Taylor is solely a project for the Seahawks, there is quite a bit of work to be done to help him refine his tool set, which should open the door for Mayowa to see starter snaps in the early stages of the season. In the likely event that Taylor develops at a similar pace to, say, Frank Clark, the Seahawks will need Mayowa to at least produce at a level near or identical to his past two seasons as they aim to compete for a division title and beyond.
If Mayowa’s growth up to this point is any indication of what’s to come, the Seahawks should feel pretty comfortable in affording him more opportunities than he’s seen in previous seasons. And if Taylor can be effective early on with only one way to go but up, Seattle may have a potent duo at LEO. It should be a really fun position to keep an eye on as the season progresses, even if the Seahawks don’t add another piece to the puzzle before or during camp.