The Baltimore Ravens came up empty-handed at the NFL’s Honors ceremony Saturday. Though he finished third in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, Patrick Queen made sure people knew he wasn’t happy about it.
Baltimore rarely lets rookies get a lot of playing time, much less start immediately, making Queen’s 16 regular-season starts pretty remarkable. He performed well, notching 106 combined tackles, an interception, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one fumble returned for a touchdown, three sacks, nine tackles for a loss, and 13 combined pressures.
Queen sat down for a video call with former NFL punter-turned talking-head Pat McAfee to discuss the diss. While he acknowledged the amazing season Washington’s Chase Young had and said he was deserving of the award, Queen put the focus on coming back better in 2021.
I love that @Patrickqueen_ was upset about DPROY & voiced that
"Everything's personal now. I'm going to go down to Florida at the House of Athletes & get the work in & go earn what I want" #PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/6Cw9ZUvRCB
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 10, 2021
Queen detailed his offseason workout plans to McAfee, including training at House of Athletes down in Florida which was founded by former NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
Queen is already an athletic freak, with great sideline-to-sideline speed. Where Queen could really use the help is in reading and diagnosing plays pre-snap and getting a little stronger to fend off blocks, putting himself in better positions to make plays. We should expect Queen to develop quite a bit after getting a full season of play and heading into the offseason training for football and not the NFL Scouting Combine. However, considering Queen is just 21 years old, he hasn’t even hit his physical peak yet and could shock everyone when he shows up for training camp in the summer.
When Queen says “everything’s personal” you can’t help but believe him. And for the players that’ll be going up against him next season, that’s a pretty scary thought. He might not have won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award but if Queen keeps this chip on his shoulder, he might put himself in the running for the Defensive Player of the Year award next season.
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