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Coming off their bye week, the Seahawks find themselves at 4-5. When it comes to scoring and total yards allowed, their defense is in the top 25.

Julian Love, who is still performing at a high level, doesn’t seem to be to blame for that.

With Jamal Adams’ future in Seattle unknown, the Seahawks bolstered their defensive depth chart before the 2023 season by signing free agent Julian Love. His Seattle career got off to a rough start, but he came back strong in the end.

Two of the Seahawks’ victories came down to plays he made in the fourth quarter. First, in the fourth quarter, he picked off the Cleveland Browns, setting up the winning touchdown drive for Seattle. On Monday Night Football, he had two interceptions of Jalen Hurts, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles. Each selection occurred in the last period of play. As Hurts attempted a Hail Mary into the endzone with six seconds remaining, the second interception helped to seal the victory. And that was just before he became a father.

Love finished the season as the team leader in pass breakups with 10, second on the squad with 123 tackles, and first with four interceptions. He received his first Pro Bowl nod of his career because to his newfound “dad strength” in the final minutes. His final grade was 72.8, according to Pro Football Focus. Last year, he was eleventh among safeties with a coverage grade of 80.4%.

He appears to be just as excellent, if not better, so far this season in nine games. I should start by saying that his present PFF grade of 76.9 is the best it has ever been. Additionally, his run defense has shown improvement, ranking eighth among qualified safeties.

When targeted, Love has a career-low passer rating of 79.2 and a career-low catch percentage of 67.7 percent in 31 passing games played. That places them 22nd out of 79 eligible defensive backs.

The alum of Notre Dame has also improved as a tackler from last season. His missed tackle percentage has dropped from 11.2 percent in 2023 to 9.6 percent this season, according to PFF.

Love currently has 65 tackles, surpassing Tyrel Dodson, who was released by the Seahawks, as the team’s leading tackler. Though it’s concerning that Love is the team’s leading tackler, it’s not out of the ordinary for a safety. Despite the chaos all around him, he keeps his composure. Two starting linebackers from this season have left Seattle, and safety Rayshawn Jenkins has been out with an injury since October 10.

Love has played in more defensive snaps than any other active Seattle defender this season, second only to Devon Witherspoon.

It is yet to be determined whether Love’s impressive start to 2024 will lead to his second consecutive Pro Bowl nomination. Although the rest of Seattle’s defensive unit has had its ups and downs, he continues to make a strong case. Despite the team’s overall troubles, Love has maintained his high standard. If he has a solid second half, he might be recognized as one of the finest safeties in the league.