In Week five the Baltimore Ravens handily beat their division rival Cincinnati Bengals and number one pick Joe Burrow 27-3. In what was a defense first game for the Ravens, the defense was hot, but the offense has a lot of room for improvement.
Who’s Hot?
DPOW and DROY are the hot four letter phrases here. This week’s AFC defensive player of the week was Patrick Queen. The rookie first round pick out of LSU put on a show throughout the game. Between his nine tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovered for a touchdown, Queen led the way for not just the defense but for the team in this game, proving he is a difference maker.
The hype train has been hot and rolling as Queen has been seen being used as a three down linebacker. The more he plays the more we realize that he needs to be on the field every snap. Queen effectively guarded the pass, run, and was able to showcase his speed by blitzing. Queen’s big sack came on a hit to his former teammate, Burrow, that caused the ball to come free.
These difference making plays show that he can be the next in a long line of great Baltimore linebackers. For years the Ravens have found great value and developed incredible linebackers. Some of which have been late round picks or undrafted, but the most important group are the first round inside linebackers.
Thus far, Queen has exceeded expectations and has put his name right in with successful picks like C.J Mosley and Ray Lewis. Right now he looks like he will be the next leader in the middle of the defense for years to come.
https://twitter.com/sgellison/status/1315692285414301703
Queen leads the Ravens in tackles for the season, has two forced fumbles and two sacks this early in the season. But he also just got the first defensive player of the week award for a Raven since Patrick Onuwuasor in 2018. For Queen, this is just the start, on Sunday his speed and physicality jumped off the screen. This is for a linebacker that was called “undersized”. He is playing loose and free and letting his play do the talking. Right now the league and world is noticing and he is being rewarded. Right now Patrick Queen’s stock is scorching hot.