Getty Patrick Queen hits an Alabama player during a game.
The Baltimore Ravens selected Patrick Queen with an early pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, and the fit of the linebacker with the team has been lauded in recent months.
Now, as the season pushes toward the beginning, Queen’s first season is ready to start and the Ravens linebacker is being suspected to be a major player for the 2020 season. Recently, Queen cracked the list of NFL.com columnist Lance Zierlein as it relates to potential Rookie of the Year candidates. Interestingly enough, he was quite high on the list with a No. 2 rating.
Zierlein wrote:
“While just two DROY winners over the last 10 seasons were off-ball linebackers, both players (Darius Leonard and Luke Kuechly) played fast and offered coverage versatility on third downs. Queen is not only fast in a straight line, but his scrape explosiveness is extremely impressive and he can cover both tight ends and running backs down the field. He plays with an alpha mentality and should stack plenty of tackles for a proven defense in Year 1.”
Many have hinted that Queen could be the team’s next Ray Lewis and while those are certainly big shoes to fill, it’s clear he has the talent to fill them right off the bat if things get off to a fast enough start.
Queen is going to be called upon to play a huge role, and that’s just what many see him doing right off the bat in terms of making an impact in the league.
John Harbuagh Explains Plan for Patrick Queen
While everyone will have to wait for details of how the team plans to use Queen officially at a later date, at the very least, folks now have been given some type of idea about what could happen schematically. John Harbaugh recently joined BaltimoreRavens.com and spoke about the plans for Queen as well as fellow rookie Malik Harrison this season.
As he said, there figures to be some diversity in what they will do, but the duo will see the field a ton.
“Let him use his speed and instincts to run around and make plays in all three phases, be a three-down guy both in our base package and our sub package.”
Coach Harbaugh expects big things from @Patrickqueen_.
“We’ll play him probably at MIKE for the most part, right there in the middle. Let him use his speed and instincts to run around and make plays in all 3 phases and be a 3 down guy both in our base package and sub package,” Harbaugh explained. “Those guys will be rolling in there at those linebacker spots and we’ll see how much play time they earn. We expect them to earn a lot of playing time and play a lot of football this year. We’re really fired up about those guys.”
Given the team’s needs on defense, it’s safe to understand why anyone would be fired up about Queen and also Harrison. The pair are aggressive and tough, and are rock solid at positions where the Ravens had a big need after last season’s epic playoff collapse.
The quicker the rookies see the field and get accustomed to the pace of play, the better it will be for the Ravens in the end as the season progresses.
Peter Schrager Called Patrick Queen Ravens’ Perfect Fit
Coming into the draft, Peter Schrager of the NFL Network was asked to name his perfect fit in the draft for the Ravens, and he had linebacker Patrick Queen of LSU as his pick. The reason was Queen’s own skill as well as his perfect fit within the team’s defense on the field.
The perfect fit for the @Ravens?
@PSchrags says it’s Patrick Queen, LB, out of @LSUfootball.
“They’ll have to trade up to get him. So, do it. That’s why you accumulate all those later round picks. Go get Queen for Wink Martindale’s defense.”
“The Ravens are in the market for linebacker, that’s everything you are hearing around the league. I think Queen would be the perfect pick or if the Ravens trade up to get him,” Schrager said. “I think Wink Martindale might be the best defensive coordinator in all of football. You add Patrick Queen to that unit that was flying all over the field last year. You don’t really get big personality, but you get big impact. Ravens, Queen, I think the fans would like it too.”
From that perspective it already feels like a home run for the Ravens to now have Queen in the defense. That will be true no matter what role he plays and how much he plays as a first year pro.
Expect to see plenty of Queen right off the bat if their coach’s words are any indication. Should this happen, it would be easy to see him being a major player for the award.
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