.jpg) Love with the New York Giants in 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 20 –Seattle Seahawks | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1998-03-19)March 19, 1998 (age 27) Westchester, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Nazareth Academy (La Grange Park, Illinois) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Notre Dame (2016–2018) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2019: 4th round, 108th pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2024 | |||||||||||||||
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Julian Love (born March 19, 1998) is an American professionalfootballsafety for theSeattle Seahawks of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theNotre Dame Fighting Irish.
Love attendedNazareth Academy inLa Grange Park, Illinois. As a senior in 2015, he was theChicago Sun-Times Football Player of the Year after recording 92 tackles on defense and 1,067 rushing yards and 18touchdowns on offense.[1] Love committed to theUniversity of Notre Dame to playcollege football.[2]
As a true freshman at Notre Dame in 2016, Love played in 12 games with eight starts and recorded 45 tackles and oneinterception.[3][4] As a sophomore in 2017, he started all 13 games, recording 68 tackles and three interceptions.[5][6] Love returned as a starter his junior year in 2018.[7][8] On January 4, 2019, Love announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for the2019 NFL draft.[9]
On January 4, 2019, Love released a statement on hisInstagram to officially announce his decision to forgo his senior season at Notre Dame to enter the 2019 NFL Draft. He was ranked as the third cornerback in the draft by NFL media analystTodd McShay and was ranked the fourth best cornerback by NFL draft analystMel Kiper Jr.[10]
| External videos | |
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 Breakdown of Love's College Highlights |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft10+3⁄4 in (1.80 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 31+3⁄4 in (0.81 m) | 9 in (0.23 m) | 4.50 s | 1.59 s | 2.57 s | 4.10 s | 6.72 s | 36.0 in (0.91 m) | 10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) | 14 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[11][12] | ||||||||||||
| External videos | |
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| Giants select Julian Love 108th overall | |
| Love gets a call from Pat Shurmur |
TheNew York Giants selected Love in the fourth round (108th overall) of the2019 NFL Draft. Love was the 10th safety drafted in 2019.[13]
"I love that pick, I don’t understand how he dropped to the fourth round. I think he’s a steal. From my time being around the football team and watching every Notre Dame game, he is always around the ball. In this defense, I think that bodes well."[14]
On May 2, 2019, theNew York Giants signed Love to a four–year,$3.29 millioncontract that includes an initialsigning bonus of $779,860.[15]
During rookie training camp, defensive coordinatorJames Bettcher began having Love learn to play free safety with the aide of starting free safetyAntoine Bethea.[16] He continued to play cornerback, free safety, and nickelback in training camp and competed againstGrant Haley to be the primary slot cornerback while also competing to be the backup free safety againstMichael Thomas.[17][18] Head coachPat Shurmur named Love the third free safety on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind starter Antoine Bethea and backupSean Chandler.[19]
On September 8, 2019, Love made his professional regular season debut in a 27–35 loss at theDallas Cowboys. On November 24, 2019, Love made a solo tackle, deflected a pass, and returned his first career interception thrown byMitchell Trubisky for a 30-yard return during the Giants' 19–14 loss at theChicago Bears.[20] In Week 14, Love earned his first career start in place of starting strong safetyJabrill Peppers and collected seven combined tackles (four solo) in a 13–31 loss at theGreen Bay Packers. On December 29, 2019, he recorded a season-high nine combined tackles (eight solo), made two tackles for-a-loss, and a pass deflection in a 17–34 loss to thePhiladelphia Eagles. He finished his rookie season in2019 with a total of 37 combined tackles (30 solo), five tackles for-a-loss, three pass deflections, a forced fumble, and an interception in 13 games and five starts.[21]
TheNew York Giants finished the2019 NFL season with a 4–12 record and did not qualify for the playoffs. On December 30, 2019, the New York Giants fired head coachPat Shurmur and his coaching staff.[22]
On January 8, 2020, theNew York Giants announced the hiring of formerNew England Patriots' special teams coordinatorJoe Judge as their new head coach.[23] He competed to be the starting free safety against rookieXavier McKinney.[24] Defensive coordinatorPatrick Graham named Love andJabrill Peppers the starting safety duo to begin the regular season.[25]
In Week 2, Love recorded five combined tackles (four solo), a pass deflection, and made his first interception of the season by a pass attempt coincidentally thrown byMitchell Trubisky in a 17–13 loss at theChicago Bears.[26] On September 27, 2020, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (10 solo) as the Giants lost 9–36 to theSan Francisco 49ers. Head coach Pat Shurmur chose to replace Love as the starting free safety with free agent acquisitionLogan Ryan starting in Week 4. He finished the season with a total of 64 combined tackles (45 solo), three pass deflections, a tackle for-a-loss, and an interception in 16 games and four starts.[27] The New York Giants finished second in theNFC East, but missed the playoffs with a 6–10 record.
He entered training camp slated as a backup asLogan Ryan andJabrill Peppers were entrenched as the starting safeties. He competed againstXavier McKinney to be the primary backup up safety and nickelback. Head coach Joe Judge named him a backup safety to begin the regular season. On November 1, 2022, Love made two combined tackles (one solo), broke up a pass, and had his only interception of the season on a pass thrown byPatrick Mahomes to wide receiverJosh Gordon during a 17–20 loss at theKansas City Chiefs.[28] In Week 11, he made six combined tackles (three solo) and a season-high two pass deflections during a 10–30 loss at theTampa Bay Buccaneers. On December 19, 2021, Love collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (eight solo) during a 6–21 loss at theDallas Cowboys. He finished the2021 NFL season with a total of 66 combined tackles (36 solo)0, seven pass deflections, and one interceptions while appearing in all 17 games with five starts.[29]
On January 28, 2022, the New York Giants hiredBuffalo Bills' offensive coordinatorBrian Daboll as their new head coach after Joe Judge was terminated after a 14–3 record.[30] Following the departures of Jabrill Peppers and Logan Ryan, defensive coordinatorDon Martindale held a competition between Love, Xavier McKinney,Jason Pinnock, andTony Jefferson to determine the starting safeties. Love was named the starting strong safety to start the season, alongside free safety Xavier McKinney.[31]
On September 26, 2022, Love collected a career-high 14 combined tackles (four solo) during a 16–23 loss to theDallas Cowboys. On October 16, 2022, he made six combined tackles (three solo), a season-high two pass deflections, and intercepted pass byLamar Jackson to fullbackPatrick Ricard which led to the game-winning touchdown during a 24–20 victory against theBaltimore Ravens.[32] In Week 13, Love made a season-high 11 solo tackles (13 combined) during a 20–20 tie against theWashington Commanders. He was inactive as a healthy scratch for a Week 18 loss to theGreen Bay Packers as Brian Daboll chose to rest his starters. He finished the season with a total of 124 combined tackles (79 solo), five pass deflections, two interceptions, and one sack in 17 games and 16 starts. Pro Football Focus had Love earn an overall grade of 66.7 in 2022 and he received a coverage grade of 70.9.[33]
The New York Giants finished third in theNFC East with a 9–7–1 record and earned a spot as a Wildcard. On January 15, 2023, Love started in his first career playoff appearance and made four combined tackles (two solo) during a 31–24 victory at theMinnesota Vikings in the NFC Wild Card Game. On January 21, 2023, he collected eight solo tackles during a 7–38 loss at thePhiladelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round.
On March 17, 2023, theSeattle Seahawks signed Love to a two–year, $12.00 million contract that includes $5.98 million guaranteed and an initialsigning bonus of $4.82 million.[34][15]
During training camp, he competed againstJerrick Reed andCoby Bryant to be the starting strong safety asJamal Adams was still recovering from his injury. Head coachPete Carroll named Love the starting strong safety to begin the season, alongside free safetyQuandre Diggs. Prior to Week 4, Love was demoted to the primary backup safety and nickelback after Jamal Adams returned to takeover his starting role.[35]
| External videos | |
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| Love tracks Hurts deep TD pass for INT | |
| Julian Love 2024 Pro Bowler | |
| Top 100 Players 2024: No. 85 Julian Love |
In Week 8 of the 2023 season against theCleveland Browns, Love intercepted a pass thrown byP. J. Walker that led to the game-winning touchdown as the Seahawks won 24–20.[36] Love returned to his starting role in Week 14 after Jamal Adams injured his knee and was subsequently placed on injured reserve for the last four games of the season. On December 18, 2023, Love made nine combined tackles (six solo), a season-high tying two pass deflections, and a career-high two interceptions on passes thrown byJalen Hurts in the fourth quarter which led to the Seahawks' winning the game 20–17 against thePhiladelphia Eagles. He was namedNational Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week.[37] In Week 17, Love collected a season-high 14 combined tackles (ten solo) during a 23–30 loss to thePittsburgh Steelers. He finished the season with 123 combined tackles (85 solo), ten pass deflections, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in 17 games and 12 starts. He was ranked 95th by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2024.[38] He was selected to play in the2024 Pro Bowl. He received a career-high overall grade of 72.8 fromPro Football Focus and received a coverage grade of 80.4. PFF ranked him as the 28th best safety heading into 2024.[39]
On January 31, 2024, the Seattle Seahawks hiredBaltimore Ravens' defensive coordinatorMike Macdonald as their head coach to replacePete Carroll.[40] Following the departures of Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs via free agency, both starting safety roles became available. Defensive coordinatorAden Durde retained Love as a starter with the other role being competed for byRayshawn Jenkins,K'Von Wallace, and Coby Bryant.[41] Head coach Mike Macdonald named Love the starting free safety to begin the season, alongside Rayshawn Jenkins.[42]
On July 24, 2024, theSeattle Seahawks signed Love to a three–year, $36.00 million contract extension that includes $13.16 million guaranteed and an initial signing bonus of $10.50 million. With one–year remaining from his previous contract, he will not enter free agency until after the 2027 NFL season.[43][15]
| External videos | |
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| Julian Love INTs Bo Nix TD attempt | |
| Week 7: Julian Love INTs Kirk Cousins |
On September 8, 2024, Love started in the Seattle Seahawks' home-opener against theDenver Broncos and collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (ten solo), broke up a pass, forced a fumble, and had the first career interception thrown by rookieBo Nix to wide receiverCourtland Sutton during a 26–20 victory. In Week 18, he made six combined tackles (four solo), a season-high three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass byJimmy Garoppolo during a 30–25 victory at theLos Angeles Rams.[44] He started all 17 games in2024 and finished with a total of 109 combined tackles (79 solo), 12 pass deflections, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.[45]