What’s next for Pro Bowler Julian Love?

July 11, 2024

The Seattle Seahawks will open their training camp in the VMAC in less than a month, officially beginning their first season under new coach Mike Macdonald.

In preparation for the new season, over the next few weeks we will be detailing each member of the Seahawks’ 90-man roster, diving into game schemes, examining best and worst case scenarios, and predicting what to expect from each player in the 2024 season.

After the sensational conclusion of his first season in Seattle, the question arises: what tricks will Julian Love pull out next when he starts a new contract year?

Love played for Notre Dame and forwent his final year of eligibility to enter the 2019 NFL Draft. The Giants selected him in the fourth round with the 108th overall pick. Despite only starting five games as a rookie, he still played nearly 500 defensive snaps at multiple positions and took on a major role on special teams, recording 37 tackles and one interception. After three seasons of serving primarily as a situational reserve and special teams ace, Love finally made the jump to New York’s starting lineup in 2022 and enjoyed a career year as an all-around safety, setting personal bests in tackles, interceptions and tackles for loss. After signing a two-year contract as a free agent, he took on a major role with the Seahawks, playing both safety positions. He led the team with four interceptions in 2023 and was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.

Since entering the NFL in 2019, few players have offered more positional flexibility than Love, who has played more than 700 snaps as a free safety, strong safety and slot in five seasons. Although he played more than 300 snaps at both safety positions for Seattle last year, he was most successful as a free safety, allowing just 30 yards on 11 attempts and completing three pass breakups in three games in which he played more than 30 snaps as a free safety and fewer than 10 snaps in the box. In Mike Macdonald’s defense, he is a natural fit as a replaceable free safety who can be deployed on the field.

Love picks up where he left off after a fantastic final month of the 2023 season. His versatility, ball skills and high football IQ make him the perfect candidate for the free safety duties in Macdonald’s system. He sets a new career high with five picks and adds 84 tackles and two sacks, earning him his second consecutive Pro Bowl and a lucrative contract extension with the Seahawks.

Despite opening the season as a starter, Love has had some difficulty adjusting to a complex system early in the season. He allowed some big plays in coverage during the first month of play before finally settling in. With him unable to produce the same turnover numbers as last year, his status will be in question long-term as he turns to free agent soon.

At just 26 years old, Love has all the tools to be the next highly successful safety who thrives in Macdonald’s system, which requires interchangeability at the position. In addition to his immense flexibility, he is a tremendous athlete who showed off his improved ball skills last season. He plays physically enough to still be a force in the box and help against the run, and he is intelligent enough to handle all the complexities that come with the new system. In addition, he is a respected leader on and off the field who is highly regarded by his peers.

Assuming Love ends up settling in as a full-time free safety and not having to play 300+ snaps in the box like he did last year with the Seahawks, it will play to his strengths and set the stage for him to be even better than he was in the second half of last season. Of course, he’ll have to prove he can play more consistently, especially in coverage, where he allowed nearly 560 yards and a 70 percent completion rate last year. If he can iron out some of the coverage mistakes he made early last year and also step in as a blitzer and run defender, he has a great opportunity to make big money with free agency right around the corner.

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What’s next for Pro Bowler Julian Love?

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