Patrick Queen, LB, Baltimore Ravens
Some teams just handle the draft so well. The Minnesota Vikings had a great draft, picking players at 22 and 31 that many connected to them at their original draft slots of 22 and 25. As we highlighted with Justin Jefferson, Jeff Gladney, the TCU cornerback, is a great fit for their defense.
Then there are the Baltimore Ravens. The defending AFC North Champions entered the first round with needs at both linebacker and edge defender that they could potentially address in the first round, and they stayed right in their spot at 28 and saw perhaps the best linebacker in the draft after Isaiah Simmons fall into their lap.
Kenneth Murray came off the board before him, going to the Los Angeles Chargers at 23 after a trade with the New England Patriots, but from where I sit, Queen is the more pro-ready linebacker. Murray is a “see ball kill ball” kind of player, who breaks on things happening in front of him with a quick hair trigger and destroys what he sees.
By contrast, Murray is a more cerebral linebacker, who understands his run fits, knows how to diagnose what is taking place in front of him and executes his assignments crisply. Just watch him sort of slide and glide down the line of scrimmage here against Clemson, fit his gap responsibility, and then finish the play:
Queen remains in control and never panics, and when the running back finally tries to make something happen, Queen drives him out of bounds with a perfect hard hit.
But what might set him apart from Murray – and makes him a great fit in Baltimore – is what he does against the pass. Pass coverage is his strength as a linebacker. He has a good understanding of route concepts and has a great internal clock for zone coverage situations. He knows exactly when to peel off a receiver and break on the next threat. Queen gets good depth on his backpedal when tasked with dropping into a deeper zone or into a Tampa 2 intermediate hook zone.
If you’re playing Travis Kelce, say in an AFC Championship Game, a linebacker that brings that to the table is a big plus.