Seattle Seahawks knows where the bodies are at safety

Seattle Seahawks safety Julian Love can do it all, but he can't do it alone. The Hawks already have a stronger group than many think, but even more help could be waiting.

Seattle made big changes on the back of their defense this offseason when they released both Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. Both were salary cap casualties as the team saved $17 million by moving on from the duo. Love proved he was more than capable - I think making the Pro Bowl is an acceptable measure of proof, right? However, the Hawks faced questions after they moved on from Adams and Diggs, the pair that began 2023 as the starting safeties.

The Seahawks addressed that need when they signed Rayshawn Jenkins and K'Von Wallace in the first wave of free agency. I love Diggs and his game, but Jenkins is a great fit for Mike Macdonald's scheme. Like the former Jaguar and now Seattle's starting safety Jenkins, Wallace can line up anywhere. Diggs was almost exclusively a free safety, while the Seahawks will be mixing up coverages and schemes constantly under Macdonald.

Seattle Seahawks have depth at safety now but could easily add more

It's funny how people can overlook the obvious, isn't it? I came across an article criticizing the Hawks because, let me quote the piece directly, they "added nothing in the draft to enhance the safety room." Now normally I wouldn't call out a fellow writer. It doesn't matter if they write for us here at 12th Man Rising or any other site. It's just not the proper thing to do, especially in matters of opinion. In this case, it is a fact that Seattle didn't draft a safety while taking two cornerbacks. So I'll give them credit for that.

The problem is that they forget that the Hawks already have two safeties on the roster who should be able to step in when needed. Coby Bryant only got into five games last year due to injury. He didn't exactly look great covering the slot but was much better at safety. Jerrick Reed II got into three games at safety before he was lost for the season in week 11. He showed a lot of promise, as he brought the same heat-seeking missile mentality from his special teams play into the rotation on the back end.

So, yeah, I have to call out the writer who seemed to have forgotten that Bryant and Reed exist. The writer, of course, is me. You can read the whole thing here if you like. In my defense, I believe I made a few valid points elsewhere in the article. I mean, Byron Murphy II is a stud, and the defensive line will be a strength, especially playing in a 4-3 alignment much more often. Or a 5-2, a 6-1, a 2-5, whatever Macdonald dreams up next.

As for those additional reinforcements, John Schneider hasn't been a bit shy about mentioning the names of both Adams and Diggs. Adams could return to the team in a role that had been bandied about every year he was in Seattle, as a weakside linebacker. The Hawks general manager made it clear when the team released both players they hadn't shut the door on the eventual return of either one. As Schneider has said repeatedly, when Adams is deployed in the right scheme, he's a true disruptor.

As for Diggs, true, he may not be the Swiss Army knife that Seattle has in Jenkins or even Wallace. But once Love stepped in as the Seahawks' strong safety, Diggs played much more like the 2020-2022 edition. Three of his six highest grades from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) came in the last four games of the year. His passer rate allowed was 78.5, compared to 100.0 before the change. Both players can still be effective in the right scheme, and I don't doubt that Mike Macdonald would know exactly how to use either of them.

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