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.
2. Perfect balance of BPA and flash:
The Ravens struck the happy medium between the best player available and the flashiest pick they could make. Queen was the best player on my board and he provides plenty to be excited about. The Ravens were the clear winners of the first round. They stuck it out at the 28th pick, they filled a need and they took a player at an outstanding value. That is what you call crushing it in the NFL Draft. This very much has the feel of a Ravens pick. Last year, Marquise Brown was a surprise. The pick of Queen would have fit right in as an Ozzie Newsome pick. DeCosta surely did his legendary mentor proud on Thursday night.
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There were several reaches on the first night of the draft. The New York Giants took Andrew Thomas about 10 spots ahead of where you would have expected him to go. Damon Arnette, who I considered a day three pick, was drafted 19th overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Philadelphia Eagles taking Jalen Reager was a surprise because I was getting ready to erase Justin Jefferson’s name from my white board.
The Chargers traded up to get Kenneth Murray. Murray is an elite athlete but Queen had the more impressive tape. With Queen on the board the Chargers shouldn’t have traded back in to the first round and given up a second and a third round pick to move five spots ahead of the Ravens. Even if you like Murray better than Queen, you must admit that the Ravens win the linebacker sweepstakes with tremendous value. The Ravens ended up getting who they probably wanted the whole night and they didn’t have to move to get him. Eric DeCosta wins again.
3. The Ravens first round hot streak looks to continue:
You have to go back to 2015 to see the last time the Ravens whiffed on a first round draft pick. That player, was of course, Breshad Perriman. Since then the Ravens have drafted Ronnie Stanley, Marlon Humphrey, Hayden Hurst, Lamar Jackson, Marquise Brown and now Patrick Queen all in the first round. Stanley is going to be one of the highest paid left tackles in football soon. Hayden Hurst is a good player who netted the Ravens an extra second round pick this year. Jackson has already been named an NFL MVP. Brown looks like a superstar. First round draft picks for the Ravens have worked out almost perfectly in the last five drafts.
Queen was an incredibly safe pick. He’s a player that should go into the season as an instant starter. The long story short is that you don’t have to worry about this pick. The Ravens hot streak shouldn’t be in trouble. The Ravens haven’t had a streak like this since their beginning in Baltimore. In their first draft ever the Ravens took Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis in the first round. They followed it up with Peter Boulware, Duane Starks, Chris McAlister and Jamal Lewis. That streak led the Ravens to a Super Bowl XXXV win. The Ravens current success in the first round could lead to their third Super Bowl championship.
The take home point is that a Ravens team that was already lined up to be a Super Bowl contender just got better. A team that didn’t need an awful lot didn’t waste their chance to improve. There is nothing not to like about this pick. There are no red flags, no reasons for concerns. The Ravens track record in recent years and their overall draft history should give their fans a ton of confidence with this pick. Patrick Queen is the newest Raven and it’s something to rave about.