Ravens do NOT pick up fifth-year option for LB Patrick Queen

[RaidersAreOne]

 

[D82]

Again. Don't take off-ball LBs and RBs in the first round...it almost never works out. 

[Xmad]

Solid dude but he needs to play better and Roquan is worth the $ he ain't.

[TecmoSuperJoe]

I totally forgot he existed. 

[Folesadelphia]

2 hours ago, D82 said:

Again. Don't take off-ball LBs and RBs in the first round...it almost never works out. 

Shhh.... There are some fans on here who will get angry when you say things that make sense like that. So, Patrick Queen and Simmons don't get their 5th year options and Tampa Bay is probably trying to move on from Devin White but nobody wants to pay him 11 million + and give up capital for acquire him.

[Teen Girl Squad]

LB/SS (see Simmons also not getting the 5th year) need to be green dot tier football IQ guys to really impact the game and you should be able to see that in college to at least some degree (see Hamilton last year). Super athletic projects like Simmons, White, Kenneth Murray, Queen, etc... seldom work out in the spine of the defense (in terms of first round value).

[Hunter2_1]

A middle linebacker with absolutely no impact, intimidation factor, power or instinct. 

They picked the polar opposite of Ray Lewis

[Ray Reed]

3 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

A middle linebacker with absolutely no impact, intimidation factor, power or instinct. 

They picked the polar opposite of Ray Lewis

He's made some plays the last year or so, but he is by far the softest MLB I've ever seen - both physically and mentally/emotionally lol. Guy gets his feelings hurt on twitter more than he wraps up.

[candyman93]

13 hours ago, D82 said:

Again. Don't take off-ball LBs and RBs in the first round...it almost never works out. 

It’s kinda crazy, but not surprising. He joins Simmons, Murray, and Brooks from that class.

[BetterCallSaul]

It amazes me what NFL teams will overlook when it comes to linebackers. Every year people opt for these freaky athletes and every year it’s the safer later round guys that make impacts. There are certain non-negotiables for be at the position that, if you don’t have, you won’t probably ever have. Fast reactions to blocking schemes is everything. Almost all of these busts are terrible at fitting to the run, especially when gaps change due to pullers/power schemes. Run & chase linebackers are almost always failures. Queen was the ultimate boom or bust LB. He flashed some absolutely appalling chase-down speed, but was only aggressive when he was guessing. Didn’t trust his eyes at all. Plays with horrendous pacing and understanding of schemes.

I think he could be a good WLB eventually in a 4-3 because of his juice, but he has to understand pacing…when to attack downhill, when to scrape, and when to drag anchor for cutbacks. Simple LB things that he, and most of these other bust LBs suck at. 

[Rich7sena]

29 minutes ago, BetterCallSaul said:

It amazes me what NFL teams will overlook when it comes to linebackers. Every year people opt for these freaky athletes and every year it’s the safer later round guys that make impacts. There are certain non-negotiables for be at the position that, if you don’t have, you won’t probably ever have. Fast reactions to blocking schemes is everything. Almost all of these busts are terrible at fitting to the run, especially when gaps change due to pullers/power schemes. Run & chase linebackers are almost always failures. Queen was the ultimate boom or bust LB. He flashed some absolutely appalling chase-down speed, but was only aggressive when he was guessing. Didn’t trust his eyes at all. Plays with horrendous pacing and understanding of schemes.

I think he could be a good WLB eventually in a 4-3 because of his juice, but he has to understand pacing…when to attack downhill, when to scrape, and when to drag anchor for cutbacks. Simple LB things that he, and most of these other bust LBs suck at. 

My counterpoint is that the best linebackers are freaky athletes (Willis, Wagner, Kuechly, Warner, Jones, David, Urlacher, Edmunds, etc.). Ultimately, I have found that linebacker is one of the hardest positions to predict because of how dependent the position is on scheme, surrounding talent, and the ability to quickly read and react. The reality is, there are a lot more "bad" or "mediocre" linebackers in the league than there are good ones and having a bad/mediocre one doesn't sink your defense. It's a really hard position to play well, and, when you find a good one, they're sometimes too smart to stick around.

I liked Queen as a prospect. I have not watched a whole lot of him since he was drafted, but his speed is something that should let him stick around in the NFL.

[BetterCallSaul]

3 minutes ago, Rich7sena said:

My counterpoint is that the best linebackers are freaky athletes (Willis, Wagner, Kuechly, Warner, Jones, David, Urlacher, Edmunds, etc.)

True, but the same can be said for every position. Of course the freaks that also have instincts are the best ones. But I'd argue there are more freaks that get drafted without those skill sets that end up being putrid.

I have coached linebackers for 15+ years now at the HS level (I know, not college/NFL). I'd like to think I am very good at evaluating them & have had a fantastic record of ID'ing the busts at the position. It seems obvious to me who will falter vs. who will thrive. Not sure how NFL scouts struggle so hard with the evals.

[Teen Girl Squad]

1 hour ago, BetterCallSaul said:

True, but the same can be said for every position. Of course the freaks that also have instincts are the best ones. But I'd argue there are more freaks that get drafted without those skill sets that end up being putrid.

I have coached linebackers for 15+ years now at the HS level (I know, not college/NFL). I'd like to think I am very good at evaluating them & have had a fantastic record of ID'ing the busts at the position. It seems obvious to me who will falter vs. who will thrive. Not sure how NFL scouts struggle so hard with the evals.

They think they can coach it up. Never fails. Athletic point and shoot missiles are dime a dozen and you can find them in later round/cheap via FA. Pedigree matters though and the high picks get way more playing time than they should.

[General Tso]

2 hours ago, BetterCallSaul said:

It amazes me what NFL teams will overlook when it comes to linebackers. Every year people opt for these freaky athletes and every year it’s the safer later round guys that make impacts. There are certain non-negotiables for be at the position that, if you don’t have, you won’t probably ever have. Fast reactions to blocking schemes is everything. Almost all of these busts are terrible at fitting to the run, especially when gaps change due to pullers/power schemes. Run & chase linebackers are almost always failures. Queen was the ultimate boom or bust LB. He flashed some absolutely appalling chase-down speed, but was only aggressive when he was guessing. Didn’t trust his eyes at all. Plays with horrendous pacing and understanding of schemes.

I think he could be a good WLB eventually in a 4-3 because of his juice, but he has to understand pacing…when to attack downhill, when to scrape, and when to drag anchor for cutbacks. Simple LB things that he, and most of these other bust LBs suck at. 

I think that is reflected in the recent draft where guys like Sanders and Simpson dropped to the 3rd round.

I say that as a team that drafted a LB in the first round..

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

Queen is a guy who was very inconsistent when he was the Mike, but as soon as Roquan showed up his game elevated and stayed there. He's not a hybrid SS/LB like Simmons, he's an above-average ILB who has some lapses in his game.

If he has another solid year this year (which I think he will) he will make plenty on the market next year.