The Baltimore Ravens boasted one of the league’s best inside linebacker tandems over the past two years with All-Pro Roquan Smith and Pro Bowler Patrick Queen. With Queen leaving to join the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency, a new player will be relied upon to serve as the wingman to the stabilizing force, Smith.
2023 third-round pick Trenton Simpson is the favorite to land the starting gig opposite Smith, but the speedy Clemson linebacker has barely played at the NFL level.
PFF’s Gordon McGuiness ranked every team’s linebacker unit heading into the 2024 season, putting the Ravens sixth in the NFL behind the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, and New York Giants.
“This is a challenging ranking,” McGuinness wrote. “On one hand, Roquan Smith can rival Fred Warner to be the best linebacker in the league, coming off a season in which he earned an 83.2 PFF coverage grade. On the other hand, the untested Trenton Simpson is set to man the second linebacker spot. He flashed against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18 but has just 49 NFL snaps to his name.”
There is reason to believe that Simpson or another player can step in and play to a respectable level, given Baltimore’s notable history of identifying and developing quality players at the inside linebacker position. It is also fair to expect the unit to decline from last season with the loss of Queen.
Luckily for the Ravens, they have Smith to help guide the way for whichever player ultimately lines up next to him on gameday this season.