The Baltimore Ravens drafted linebacker Patrick Queen in the first round of the 2020 NFL out of LSU. Over the course of his first two seasons, Queen went through many ups and downs, showing tantalizing potential while also having quite a few lows.
This past offseason, Queen worked incredibly hard and has shown improvements in his game. That was on display in the team’s 24-9 win over the New York Jets in Week 1. Queen was in on 100% of snaps, amounting to 84 plays. When asked about Queen, Harbaugh talked about how many snaps he played”.
"We were hoping he'd be a 3 down linebacker. He earned that during Training Camp." Coach Harbaugh on PQ pic.twitter.com/32kHXRvqRF
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 12, 2022
“We were hoping that he would be a three-down linebacker, and he’s earned that during training camp. I wasn’t anticipating him being out there for 84 plays, that’s a little much. That’s kind of on us too, the whole team. The defense can limit their plays out there with the penalties; we extended some drives with that. And the fourth-down stops; we could have gotten off the field a couple times. Then offensively, we keep the ball longer, and that will limit the defensive snaps too. I’m not so much concerned about he’s out there every snap, it’s just kind of how many snaps, and that’s more of a team effort.”
It can sometimes take players a couple of seasons to fully grasp the NFL. It will do wonders for Queen and the Ravens if he has a great year, as the team needs a big year from their third-year linebacker. Each game that Queen dominates is a great step in the right direction, and if Week 1 is any indication he’s well on his way to a phenomenal season.