Looking For Julian Love: Seahawks Safety A Forgotten Offseason Addition?
The Seattle Seahawks' secondary was already one of their greatest strengths, and they doubled down on it this offseason.
With Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant at cornerback, as well as Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs at safety, the Seahawks made big additions at each position. Their big acquisition at cornerback was very flashy, selecting Devon Witherspoon at No. 5 overall in the draft. On the other hand, their signing of former New York Giants safety didn't get as much attention, but is still a huge addition.
Love, 25, had a breakout season for New York in 2022, recording a team-high 124 tackles, five passes defended and two interceptions while starting 16 games. Despite his strong play, the Giants surprisingly let Love walk in free agency. Their loss was the Seahawks' gain, as they signed him to a two-year deal worth $12 million.
To land a player of Love's talent at that bargain of a contract seems like a steal, yet few have talked about it as such. According to Bleacher Report, the Seahawks' addition of Love is one of the most-overlooked additions of the 2023 offseason.
"While the Seahawks weren't hurting for talent at the safety position—the team already had Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs under contract—they wisely didn't pass on the opportunity to get a player of Love's caliber at that price," Bleacher Report writes.
As Bleacher Report later notes, adding Love to an already-strong secondary gives the Seahawks' defense much more versatility. For example, Adams can now more-comfortably line up in the box while Diggs and Love stay back as more-traditional safeties.
Bleacher Report also notes that Love gives the Seahawks an added safety net in case of injury. Adams has been prone to ailments throughout his Seattle tenure, including missing nearly all of last season, so Love could act as a capable fall-back option should he miss time again. There's also the noted possibility that the Seahawks could move on from Adams next offseason to clear cap space, pushing Love into a bigger role in 2024.
Love clearly brings a lot of intriguing possibilities to Seattle, and the Seahawks are fortunate to have him at such an affordable price.
You can find Jonathan Alfano on Twitter @JonAlfano_News
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