New Bengals pass rusher Boye Mafe not only arrives with last year's Super Bowl ring from Seattle, but also another crown jewel he's been willing to pass around to edgers even younger than him.
Experience.
Cashius Howell, the Bengals' top draft pick at No. 41, has gravitated to him four years after the Seahawks took Mafe with the 40th pick. Mafe has also had his eyes on the Bengals' first-round pick last year, Shemar Stewart. They may not have been taken in the same round, but they've both been rookies.
"I see a hungry kid. I see a kid who wants to get better and wants to learn," says Mafe after one of this week's voluntary workouts. "He's like a sponge when it comes to knowledge. He's willing to learn everything and anything he can about the game."
Stewart has been the talk of a spring that so far has only been about talk. The meat of the voluntary workouts begin Monday with the first 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 sessions, and where the drills can be expanded.
So has Stewart's confidence, even though the last month has been pretty much just hitting bags and concepts.
"When you're in your head about things, when you're questioning yourself, that's when you can move around timid," says Stewart of the quickness and bursts he has displayed. "I feel like that's what I've been trying to eliminate from my game as I walk out here after year one. Just trying to be more mentally focused and locked on what I have to do."
Year one wasn't nearly full. Contract issues wiped out the fundamentals of last spring. Two injuries during the season whacked nine games. And yet the final line of one sack and 240 snaps seems to have served as incentive rather than insult.
"It's been a great start to year two," Stewart says. "I feel that comes from mental clarity. Once you know what you're doing, you can play and move a little faster."
That looks and sounds so familiar to Mafe. He had more rookie reps in Seattle, playing in every game to go with 425 snaps and three sacks. But he had the same type of intangible transformation from year one to what turned out to be his break-out season in year two with nine sacks.
"For me, the game slowed down," Mafe says. "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."
Stewart says that's what was so frustrating about last year: "I would be out there and ehhhhh. I somewhat know what I need to do, but I'm not 100 percent sure, and then go there and I overthink. I don't make a play."
Mafe lived there.
"I can attest to it myself. That year one and year two is a big jump," Mafe says. "As a player, you become a lot better. You understand the game better. You don't make what we call rookie mistakes anymore."
Stewart is having such a good spring that he says defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery gave him his first career "good job."
"I'm doing something right," Stewart says. "That's my guy. He never gave up on me. He always held me close even when I wasn't performing (well). He stood by me. I appreciated that. I wouldn't be as prepared for year two if I didn't have him."
Montgomery has coached in the NFL trench for a decade, so what hasn't he seen? He preaches patience.
"You've got to remember," Montgomery says, "he missed six months of football … You go through something a second time, you start to get more comfortable. It's a process. One day at a time.
"They're my guys. There's no quit in me with any of my guys. You just have to understand in order to grow, you have to take criticism. Myself included. If you're willing to learn and put time into anything, you're going to have success. He'll be fine. The better you know things, the faster you can play. He just has to know I'm on his side. He'll be fine."
Stewart has plenty of guys with him. Take Howell, who played behind him at Texas A&M and saw the stunning athleticism every day. The numbers say no one who played that position in the last 40 years can do what Stewert does and Howell sees no change.
"It feels like we've got the same vibe we had going at A&M," Howell says. "He's a freak of nature when it comes to physical attributes. Long arms. Big, fast, strong can jump. His get-off is crazy. One of the best get-offs I've seen. Just a good overall player."
And there's Mafe with that crown jewel of being there.
"I went from three sacks my rookie year to nine my second year. It can happen for anybody," Mafe says. "I see that desire in him. He wants to improve his game. The sky's the limit for him.
"I have that faith and that belief that he's going to be a great player for us this year. We're going to need him a lot and I'm excited to see what he does in that next step."
