Seahawks Grade Card: How Did Julian Love, Safeties Perform?

Though Seattle Seahawks ultimately missed the playoffs in year one under coach Mike Macdonald, even with injuries impacting one of the team's Week 1 starters at the position, they received top notch safety play for most of the 2024 season.

Did Julian Love live up to the massive extension signed prior to the start of the regular season? And did Coby Bryant potentially earn himself a second contract as one of the biggest surprises of the year?

Revisiting the 2024 campaign with statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus, here's a look at what went right, what went wrong, and a final grade for Seahawks safeties:

What Went Right

Building off a strong first season with the franchise, Love took another big step forward towards becoming one of the top safeties in the game as a pillar of Macdonald's defense. Leading the team with 108 combined tackles, he ranked in the top 11 at his position for lowest missed tackle rate, tied for second with a pair of forced fumbles, and finished second behind only Lions standout Brian Branch in PFF's run defense grade (89.5).

In addition, though Love did give up two long touchdowns on misplays and five scoring passes total, he stood out as one of the top coverage safeties in the NFL. Targeted 55 times by opposing quarterbacks, he produced three interceptions and seven pass breakups, ranking in the top 11 in both categories, recording a respectable 89.3 passer rating. He also generated a 13 percent forced incompletion rate, finishing tied for 17th in that category.

Opening the year as a reserve and special teams cog, Coby Bryant seized his opportunity replacing an injured Rayshawn Jenkins starting in Week 7, playing so well that when Jenkins returned from injured reserve a month later, he got Wally Pipp'd and couldn't get his job back. The third-year defender allowed just 213 yards in coverage with three interceptions and three pass breakups, finishing 13th among safeties allowing a 75.9 passer rating, while also producing five pressures on six blitz attempts to offer remarkable efficiency as a rusher.

When healthy, Jenkins provided steady contributions for Macdonald's defense, including returning a fumble for a team-record 102-yard touchdown in a loss to the Giants and generating two sacks. Despite missing four games and seeing a reduced workload in the second half behind Bryant, he still finished with 53 tackles and two tackles for loss, excelling as a money linebacker down the stretch in three safety sub packages.

What Went Wrong

Though Jenkins pitched in with a fumble return and racked up quite a few tackles as a run defender, it can be argued that he didn't live up to the two-year contract he signed in March, particularly in coverage. On 32 targets, he allowed 28 receptions for 295 yards and a touchdown without any interceptions or pass breakups as quarterbacks posted a 115.5 passer rating against him.

Aside from Jenkins having a disappointing first season, the move to add K'Von Wallace as a third safety didn't pan out quite as planned either. Before an ankle injury cost him the final seven games of the season, he surrendered two touchdowns and 85 passing yards on just four completions, including a busted coverage against the Lions where he blitzed when he wasn't supposed to and allowed Jamison Williams to go 70 yards for a score. He also missed 23 percent of his tackle attempts.

Coming off a torn ACL that ended his rookie season prematurely, Jerrick Reed II wasn't able to contribute anything of significance on defense upon his return from the PUP list, eventually going down with another injury. The second-year safety played five total defensive snaps, eventually being passed over by practice squad defender Ty Okada in what may be viewed as a "redshirt" sophomore campaign given his injury situation.

Final Grade: B+

With the exception of yielding too many explosives early in the season, including a 72-yard touchdown to Deebo Samuel in a Week 6 loss to the 49ers, the Seahawks received consistently strong play from their safety group. Love finished as one of the 10 highest-graded safeties in the NFL and received one vote in All-Pro balloting, while Bryant couldn't have played much better stepping into the lineup for Jenkins with six total passes defensed and only one touchdown allowed in coverage.

Even from a reserve standpoint, Jenkins delivered several clutch plays before losing his starting job due to an untimely injury and continued to produce as a rotational defender upon his return. On special teams, Wallace and Bryant both finished in the top five on the team in tackles, while Reed pitched in three tackles in only five games on kick and punt coverage.

Looking towards 2025, after extending Love this past offseason, the Seahawks could have some interesting decisions to make at the safety spot. Though he still has a year left on his rookie deal, Bryant played well enough as a versatile safety to justify receiving an extension of his own, while releasing Jenkins would open up more than $5 million in cap relief. Such a move could happen with Reed, Okada, and A.J. Finley all waiting in the wings and the opportunity to draft a safety in April.

Regardless, at least in the short-term, Love and Bryant should be back as the starters for Seattle next summer, offering a glimpse of what could be the starting tandem for years to come. Depth-wise, there's enough young talent with upside under contract to create excitement about the future of this group beyond those two veterans as well, making this position one that should be in good shape for the foreseeable future.

Previous 2024 Grade Cards: Quarterback | Running Back | Cornerback

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