It may seem odd to say a guy who's been to the Pro Bowl is underrated. But in this case, it's true. He's not a player that Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald brought to Seattle. But calling him a Macdonald disciple certainly fits. Spoiler alert: No, we're not talking about Blitz.
For those of you new to the team, the Seahawks head coach values versatility on defense even more than Pete Carroll did. We'll get to the specifics in a bit, but trust me, Mike Macdonald plays a more complex game of matchups than Carroll ever did. I wouldn't say it's like chess versus checkers, exactly. Maybe more like Macdonald is playing on that 3-D chessboard Mr. Spock had in Star Trek.
The Seahawks have moved personnel along the defensive line forever. Who doesn't remember seeing Michael Bennett lined up - well, just about anywhere he wanted? They haven't played quite so much of a mix-and-match game with the defensive backfield.
Even the versatile Devon Witherspoon, who really should be a future Olympian, played a higher percentage of snaps in the box under Macdonald than Carroll. But this guy - he plays all over the place.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald puts Julian Love in place to be his best
Julian Love is the Seahawks' free safety. His 699 snaps in that position bear that out. Yet he played 222 in the box and lined up as the slot defender for 122 snaps. Yes, he had even more snaps at strong safety in 2023 under Carroll (312), but that was largely due to the absence of Jamal Adams, who only played in nine games.
He had just six snaps in his first game of the season at that. 215 of Love's plays from the box were in the games Adams missed that year.
The Baltimore Ravens' Kyle Hamilton isn't the same kind of player as Love. He's 6'4" and 220 pounds. He's basically a clone of Kam Chancellor - and the Seahawks' newest defensive phenom, Nick Emmanwori, is the next step in that lineage. What interests me is how Macdonald used Hamilton when he was the defensive coordinator in Baltimore.
Hamilton is the strong safety, as I'm sure you know. Yet in 2023, he had 236 snaps in the box, 301 as the free safety, and 465 at nickel. All stats are per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). To be fair, Hamilton is a defensive back, period. Last year, Hamilton was still moved around a lot, but not as much as under Macdonald. He had 407 snaps in the box, 355 as the FS, and 292 at nickel.
At 5'11" and 195 pounds, Love isn't exactly the prototypical strong safety. Yet Macdonald (and defensive coordinator Aden Durde) sees the value in moving Love around to help disguise Seattle's coverages. That versatility is a big reason that his defensive grade (per PFF) climbed from 72.8 in 2023 to 82.2 last season. Those are the two highest grades of his six-year career, by the way.
Julian Love came into his own once he joined the Seahawks. Although, to be fair, it seemed that the previous staff didn't realize what they had, as he only came into his own after the Adams injury. Mike Macdonald saw what Love brings to the defense. Expect an even better season in 2025 from one of the Seahawks' best, albeit underrated, players.