The Baltimore Ravens traded a second-round pick, a fifth-round pick and linebacker A.J. Klein in exchange for inside linebacker Roquan Smith from the Chicago Bears right before the trade deadline. The acquisition of Smith added a high-quality piece to Baltimore’s defense, a unit that has began to hit their stride over the last few weeks.
Smith slots in next to fellow inside linebacker Patrick Queen, who has played well himself over the course of the 2022 season. When asked about how Smith and Queen can play off of each other, Ravens inside linebackers coach Zach Orr shared his excitement about what the two can do as a duo on the field at the same time.
“Man, it was great. I mean, you’ve got two erasers [Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen] in the middle of a defense. You’re talking about two linebackers that run [a] 4.4 [40-yard dash], that are physical, that are instinctive, that are fast. There are not many teams in the NFL that have a pair like that in the middle, and I think you saw that last night. We played a tough Saints offense, a top offense in the league despite their record, and one of the most dynamic running backs in the league with Alvin Kamara. That dude is probably a top running back overall, out of the backfield [and] running the football. Those two guys [Smith and Queen] played great coverage on him [and] essentially took him out of the game, which took their offense out of the game. So, that was a great start, and it’s only going to go up from here. That’s the expectation, because like you said, ‘Ro’ [Roquan Smith] just got here six days ago, so we threw the whole playbook at him that he would have gotten starting in March – he did a great job picking that up – and ‘PQ’ [Patrick Queen] did a good job helping bring him along. So, I’m just excited. Those guys already have got a chemistry they’re building; they sit next to each other in meetings. So, I’m excited about where we’re going.”
Both Smith and Queen have somewhat similar skill sets in certain aspects, but both are great players with a knack for making plays. They should each make the other better, forming one of the better inside linebacker duos in the NFL for the remainder of the 2022 season and potentially beyond.
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