Seattle Seahawks: 2023 Over/Under – Defensive Backs
Q4: Julian Love – Over/Under 100 tackles?
Andrew: Under. It’s going to be close, but with Bobby Wagner back in the middle and two other safeties above him on the depth chart, there may not be enough tackles and plays to go around for Love to hit triple digits.
Ed: Under. It depends more on question 1, but I don’t think Love will see as much playing time with the Seattle Seahawks as he did in New York. He still is a hitter, and 75-90 is very doable.
Chris: Over (and just barely). With Love and Diggs, the Seattle Seahawks have no need to rush Adams back. He can take his time in his recovery, which would lead to my thinking that Adams is more than likely starting the season on PUP.
Obviously, this allows for Love to get more playing time. Once Adams returns, he will most likely form a rotation with Diggs and Love, while also playing some snaps in the box to better utilize his best asset.
Bobby Wagner is back with the Seattle Seahawks, and he’ll play, but it won’t be as much as people are expecting. He’s a two-down linebacker and has been for a few seasons.
While Adams is on the PUP, expect Wagner to get more playing time. Once Adams returns, Wagz won’t have to play as much, especially in coverage.
It allows for the Seahawks to roll out their newest defensive ploy of three safeties, with one of them playing in the box while not suffering any drop-off in coverage or run support. The New York Giants made the “NASCAR package” popular with their Super Bowl defense against the perfect New England team.
For those that forgot, it was playing four defensive ends on the line at one time. Seattle made the Cover-3 defense trendy and popular. Now they’ll make the Triple Safety (working on a name for it) the newest trend.
Clint: Under. Well, the numbers here are a bit skewed. In his 4-year career, he has 291 total tackles. For an average of 72+ total tackles per season. But in his first three seasons, his career average was only 56.
Love broke out last season and posted a very nice 124 total tackles. So what do I expect from him in 2023? The trajectory of his career says he should go over, but I’m a bit spooked by what role he will play here and how many snaps he sees.
Dan: 100 tackles seems like a lot to me, especially on a team with Diggs, Adams, and Wagner.
Check back with us next week for the Seattle Seahawks linebackers.