The Ravens got a great linebacker in Patrick Queen. Here are three big things to love about this pick:
1. It brings elite talent to the second level of the defense:
Patrick Queen brings elite talent to the second level of the defense. The Baltimore Ravens were already loaded in the back-end of the unit with Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters and Earl Thomas all being Pro Bowl talents. The defensive line should be about as fierce as it gets with Calais Campbell, Brandon Williams and Derek Wolfe. The one part of the defense that was missing top of the line talent was at inside linebacker position. The Ravens now have the most complete defense in the NFL in the sense that there isn’t a single team with more high end talent than they have.
The Ravens have a long history of great linebackers. It started with Ray Lewis and the line kind of stopped when C.J. Mosley went to the New York Jets. Now the tradition of great linebacker play can continue in Baltimore. In a way Queen fits the mold of a Ravens linebacker. He’s athletic and he’s a leader with a high football IQ. On the other hand, Queen has something the Ravens have seldom had. Queen has the ability to help out in pass coverage that has been missing in Baltimore since Lewis retired. Queen is just flat out good.
The Ravens now have a stacked defense from top to bottom. If the Ravens can manage to get just a little better at the outside linebacker positions, they may have the most exciting defensive roster since they won Super Bowl XXXV. Nobody is Ray Lewis. Patrick Queen is the closest thing the Ravens will probably ever find. Queen figures to be an elite player for the purple and black.