Seahawks safety Julian Love ‘not the flashiest guy’ but still produces

RENTON — For Seattle Seahawks safety Julian Love, it’s been a year filled with change. 

New city, new team, new role — little has stayed the same for Love since last season. But one thing hasn’t changed for the 25-year-old free agent acquisition: His play on the field, while not quite as frequent as in years past, is as good as ever. 

Love has been a productive addition for the Seahawks this season, ranking third on the team with 62 total tackles through nine games, with one interception, one fumble recovery, five passes defended and one tackle for loss.

His playing time has gone down since fellow safety Jamal Adams returned from a torn quad in mid-October, but Love has stayed productive in the weeks since his role shifted. 

He finished second on the team with seven tackles in Sunday’s 29-26 win over Washington, despite playing in only 41% of the team’s defensive snaps. 

Love was a team captain last season with the Giants and was on the field almost constantly, participating more in than 90% of the Giants’ defensive snaps in 15 games.

He’s had to take on a bit more of a supporting role in the past weeks for the Seahawks as Adams and Quandre Diggs have gotten the majority of the playing time at safety, but Love is keeping an open mind about his new role.

With a pair of Pro Bowlers at safety and some talented cornerbacks on the roster who can fill in at nickelback, it’s simply become a math problem when finding playing time for Love, who mostly plays in three-safety packages.

“For me, I had to find that middle place,” Love said. “What I can pick up on other guys’ [plays], kind of come and fill in the gaps. It’s definitely not easy from a mentality standpoint, but from a production standpoint, I just do what I’ve always done. With every snap I get, just maximize. So yeah, it was a little different, a little bit of an adjustment and change, but I still feel pretty good.”

Love’s versatility has proved to be valuable for the Seahawks, who signed him in part to stop the team’s revolving door of starting strong safeties since Adams was injured in last year’s season opener, and help bridge the gap until Adams was healthy. 

Love has taken on a jack-of-all-trades role since Adams’ return. His playing time varies week to week depending on what defensive package the Seahawks are running, and lately he’s gotten plenty of time on special teams. 

That ability to fill in pretty much anywhere has earned Love the respect of head coach Pete Carroll, who appreciates that he is capable of stepping up wherever the team needs him. 

“He’s in it in any phase that we need him,” Carroll said. “He’s a complete player, he’s a good athlete, he makes plays, he’s around the football, makes those tackles. He gives us tremendous versatility. We were able to do the things that we were doing, and we continue to mix and match with our guys to get the most out of him. He’s a perfect asset as he came to us. He can do everything we need him to do.” 

While Love’s versatility was the main draw for the Seahawks when they signed him to a two-year, $12 million contract in March, his quiet leadership ability has been a help too. Recent Seahawks trade acquisition Leonard Williams saw firsthand how Love grew into a respected team leader back in New York, after joining the Giants partway through Love’s 2019 rookie season. 

The pair spent three seasons together with the Giants and grew close off the field, with Williams and his girlfriend accompanying Love and his wife on a vacation to the Caribbean last year. Love reached out immediately when the news broke that Williams had been traded to Seattle, gave him directions to the stadium and essentially acted as a “safety net” for his past and once-again teammate. 

“It was cool for me to see his progression from his rookie year to being a captain,” Williams said. “He’s one of those guys that I respect a lot, just because he does everything right. On the field and off the field, he’s a great guy. He’s kind of just always in the right place at the right time doing the right thing and does the little things, which goes a long way.”

Love admits that he isn’t the most vocal leader, describing himself as more the “cerebral” type, and with players like Diggs, Jordyn Brooks, and Bobby Wagner on the field for Seattle, he hasn’t had to take on quite the same outspoken role he had with the Giants. 

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his teammates’ respect. Thanks to his steady veteran presence, versatility and big-play ability, Love has earned Wagner’s admiration. 

“It’s also another guy that you can trust when you’re out there that can make plays,” Wagner said. “He’s had a handful of open-field tackles by himself, one on one. If he doesn’t make that tackle, it’s a lot more yards. Having a guy that you’re confident in his ability, you’re confident in his intellect and his playmaking, has been great.” 

Love has also chosen to make the best of his situation. With Adams and Diggs lining up next to him, there are plenty of chances to improve his craft. He’s learning from some of the best, after all. 

“They make it easy for me,” Love said. “Each of them do their things at a high level, and so I can just be myself and fill in those gaps, and their standard just helps elevate my play. It’s a very good problem to have, and you have two guys who know football you can just learn from.”

Whenever Love gets the chance to be out on the field and in whatever role the Seahawks put him in, Love’s goal is to have an impact. With only two players ahead of him in Seattle’s tackle leaderboard, it’s clear that whenever he gets a chance, he is making a difference. 

“I think that’s just my game. I’m not the flashiest guy in the world, but I produce,” Love said. “I’ve been producing every year I’ve been in the league. Whatever snaps I get, I’m gonna maximize them, so that just represents that probably. Just staying ready, saying available, getting active on special teams. When it’s all said and done, that’s what hopefully I’ll remembered for. Being consistently productive.”