LB Patrick Queen
Selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Queen is going to be expected to start immediately — partially due to his draft status and partially because of how limited Baltimore’s inside linebackers are. Though it might be unfair to expect a rookie to step up, especially with the coronavirus pandemic potentially limiting his on-field practice time, that’s exactly what the Ravens are going to need Queen to do.
As we saw last season, Baltimore struggled early in the season largely thanks to the lackluster play of the linebackers. Overpursuing, not properly handling their individual responsibilities and struggling in communication helped doom the Ravens’ linebackers for the first half of the season before they completely switched out to new additions. With Baltimore’s defense fully stacked nearly everywhere else, poor play from Queen and the other starting inside linebacker will become obvious quickly and limit what the Ravens can do.
As noted with so many other players that need to step up in 2020, if Queen struggles, the entire defense will struggle along with him. For a team with Super Bowl expectations, that’s the quickest way to another depressing repeat of their playoff performances from the last two years.