Seahawks Preview: Is safety another area of strength?
Sep 6, 2024, 12:13 PM | Updated: Sep 7, 2024, 4:37 pm
Julian Love of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with teammates after an interception during a 2023 game. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Every day between now and the Sept. 8 season opener, we at Seattle Sports are previewing each of the Seattle Seahawks’ 11 position groups. Today, we take a look at safety.
Big Ray takes stock of Seattle Seahawks’ right guard battle
Links to our other position group previews will be included here as they are posted: Quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, outside linebacker, inside linebacker, cornerback and special teams.
Roster breakdown
Projected starters: Julian Love, Rayshawn Jenkins
Projected backups: K’Von Wallace, Coby Bryant
PUP list: Jerrick Reed II
Offseason summary
Who’s out: Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams signed with the Tennessee Titans in the offseason.
Who’s in: The Seahawks signed Rayshawn Jenkins to a two-year deal and K’Von Wallace to a one-year deal.
2024 outlook
Seattle moved on from two big names in the offseason, but it also figures to be strong at safety in 2024 while spending less money on the position. Diggs and Adams made a combined $25 million last season, per Spotrac, while Love and Jenkins are set to make roughly $18.6 million in 2024. The Seahawks will certainly miss the production of Diggs – who piled up three Pro Bowl selections and 18 interceptions in 4 1/2 seasons in the Pacific Northwest – but they were able to find a suitable and much cheaper replacement in Jenkins.
The combination of Love, a 2023 Pro Bowler, and Jenkins brings plenty of experience to the secondary. The pair have a combined 124 starts and 12 NFL seasons under their belts. Jenkins was listed as a limited participant in the team’s Week 1 injury report on Wednesday but is expected to play. Even if Jenkins calf injury turns out to be bothersome, Wallace also made 12 starts last year for Arizona and Tennessee.
Bryant is also worth keeping an eye on in this group. The 2022 fourth-round pick had a solid rookie year while mostly playing nickel, but struggled to get on the field last season due to a combination of a toe injury that put him on the IR late and the emergence of No. 4 overall pick Devon Witherspoon. He’s facing an uphill battle for playing time in what appears to be a deep secondary.
Julian Love | 5-11, 195 | Age: 26 | 6th year
2023 stats: 123 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 4 interceptions, 10 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles (17 games)
It didn’t take Love long impress with the Seahawks. After a signing a two-year deal before last season, the Notre Dame product earned his first Pro Bowl appearance and nabbed a career-best four interceptions. That led to Seattle giving the safety a three-year contract extension through 2027 on the first day of training camp. Love has posted over 120 tackles in each of the past two seasons, although the team would probably like to see him not have to make as many, especially against the run, in 2024.
Rayshawn Jenkins | 6-1, 220 | Age: 30 | 8th year
2023 stats: 101 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, 9 passes defended (17 games)
Seattle is the third stop in the career of Jenkins, who is entering his sixth season as a starter in the NFL. The Miami product was a fourth-round pick of the Chargers in 2017 and spent the past three seasons in Jacksonville. He’s totaled over 100 tackles in back-to-back seasons, which includes a career-high seven tackles for loss in 2023.
K’Von Wallace | 5-11, 205 | Age: 27 | 5th year
2023 stats: 89 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception, 6 passes defended (17 games)
Wallace was cut twice in 2023 but still found a way to log a productive 17-game season between two different teams. Philadelphia handed the Clemson his walking papers during the 53-man roster cutdowns. He then went to Arizona for seven games and was cut by the Cardinals when standout safety Budda Baker returned from an injury. He was then claimed by Tennessee, which had coincidentally just traded starting safety Kevin Byard to Philadelphia. Wallace’s 807 defensive snaps played last season nearly quadruple his previous career high.
Coby Bryant | 6-1, 193 | Age: 25 | 3rd year
2023 stats: 18 tackles, 1 forced fumble (9 games)
After playing a significant role on the defense as a rookie in 2022, Bryant was much less of a factor last season. He suffered a toe injury in Week 2 and played sparingly while never reclaiming his starting spot at nickel after returning in Week 11. Bryant showed some playmaking ability as a rookie, ranking third in the league with four forced fumbles and adding four tackles for loss and two sacks.
Jerrick Reed II | 5-9, 196 | Age: 24 | 2nd year
2023 stats: 11 tackles (10 games)
Reed will miss at least the first four games after starting the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered in November. Despite playing in just 10 games last season, Reed was named to the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie team on special teams.
More on the Seattle Seahawks
• Brock: Two Seattle Seahawks poised for big leaps in 2024
• A look at Seattle Seahawks’ first injury report of the season
• Three thoughts from Daniel Jeremiah about Seattle Seahawks’ offense
• Breakdown: How NFL experts view Seahawks as they begin new era
