Field Gulls
Julian Love’s second season in Seattle was a strong one.
When the Seattle Seahawks signed Julian Love, they expected a versatile defender capable of covering space in the secondary and providing stability downfield. What they received in 2024 was more than that: a player on the rise, who combined tactical intelligence, technical consistency, and a real impact in the season’s decisive moments.
With impressive numbers, visible improvement on the field, and growing mastery of defensive reads, Love has gone from being just a supporting player in the system to establishing himself as a central piece of Mike Macdonald’s defense. If he maintains his growth rate, it’s no exaggeration to say he’s on track to become one of the NFL’s top safeties.
109 combined tackles in 17 games; surpassed the 100-tackle mark for the third consecutive season. He led the team in total tackles—the first Seahawks defensive back to do so since Marcus Trufant in 2004.
3 interceptions (tied for 12th among safeties), 8 passes defended (2nd at the position), and 2 forced fumbles.
Great PFF grades: Overall 82.2 (8th/171), Run Defense 89.5 (2nd/171), Coverage 77.4 (12th/171).
87 solo tackles (6th among safeties), 29 run stops (11th), only 10 missed tackles (35th), 8.5% (27th).
Gave up 206 yards after the catch, ranking among the 11 worst safeties.
Missed Tackles: 10 missed tackles (12th among safeties). While good, there’s still room to improve on these opportunities. Uneven in the open field.
Delay in reacting/positioning
Coverage in specific situations: allowed passer rating of 87.7 (94th), suggesting vulnerabilities on intermediate-short routes.
Seattle was in Cover 2, and Love was a millisecond late, giving Sam Darnold a chance to score the TD. The big mistake here is that there was only one vertical threat in Love’s zone; it didn’t make much sense for him to maintain his position closer to the middle of the field.
Another positioning error. He’s alone covering the backfield. I think because he’s reading the QB’s eyes, he loses track of the WRs’ positioning and is manipulated. After that, he can’t recover and gives up the TD.
Excellent call by the New York Giants. The running threat (which destroyed the Seahawks’ defense) moves the team to the right side of the attack. Riq Woolen is in coverage and has to escape his own teammates. Love seems to recognize the play well, but has a poor pursuit angle, which is accentuated by the intersection with the route Devon Witherspoon is defending.
1. Deep-field coverage
Defends the deep zone, anticipating long routes; demonstrated consistency with 12 PBUs and 3 INTs. Effective reading and positioning.
2. Box support/run-fill
Advances to the box, closes gaps, and collides with running backs; resulted in the 2nd-best run-defense grade (89.5). High productivity – third consecutive year with >100 tackles; remarkable consistency.
Frequently approached the line of scrimmage to stop runs, evidenced by his second-best run-defense grade.
3. Read-and-React
Great read of the QB and anticipation, generating...
