In the days since the Pittsburgh Steelers poached linebacker Patrick Queen away from the Baltimore Ravens in free agency, there’s been quite a few discussions regarding concerns of Queen being a product of playing next to All-Pro Roquan Smith for the last two years.
Many are concerned that with Queen not next to Smith defensively, the former LSU standout and first-round pick in 2021 will fall back to his poor play shown during the first two years of his NFL career. The argument seems to be that Smith’s presence in Baltimore made Queen into what he became over the past two seasons.
That’s entirely unfair to Queen.
Yes, the addition of Smith via trade with the Chicago Bears took the Ravens’ defense to new heights. It’s also worth noting that Smith became a First Team All-Pro in Baltimore.
But Smith’s presence did not make Queen become an All-Pro player himself. Smith isn’t that impactful of a player.
The addition of Smith undoubtedly helped not only Queen, but the Ravens overall. The linebacker position is a tough one to transition to from the college game to the NFL. There are more responsibilities pre- and post-snap for linebackers in the NFL compared to college, and communication is much different.
It takes time for linebackers to mature and develop in the NFL and truly settle into their game. That appears to be the case with Queen.
But, just to amuse the argument that Queen is only a product of Smith, let’s dive into the some Pro Football Focus data, shall we?
During his time in Chicago, Smith played alongside four linebackers primarily in Danny Trevathan, Nick Kwiatkowski (remember him?), Nicholas Morrow and Alec Ogletree. Certainly some fine veterans there, steady presences overall. None of them played to the level Queen did the last two seasons.
In three seasons next to Smith, here’s how Trevathan graded out from PFF: 71.9 (2018), 61.9 (2019), 44.1 (2021). Not exactly noteworthy stuff.
Kwiatkowski wasn’t any better than Trevathan next to Smith. In one season next to Smith in 2019, Kwiatkowski graded out at a 72.5.
Ogletree in 2021 was downright awful next to Smith. He graded out at a 29.2 overall from PFF. Seriously, that’s not a typo. Morrow was a bit better than Ogletree, grading out at a 54.5 in 2022 with Chicago before Smith was traded to the Ravens.
Smith wasn’t all that great in Chicago, either. During his four and a half seasons in the Windy City, Smith graded out at a 64.2, 52.4, 67.2 and 47.8 before hitting a career-high 70.6 in 2022 splitting time between Chicago and Baltimore. In that 2022 season, Smith had three games grading out at 82.6 or higher with the Ravens, something he didn’t do once that year in Chicago.
So, could the argument theoretically be made that landing in Baltimore and having a talented, developing piece next to him in Queen helped Smith reach the heights he’s at now? Sure seems like it.
It wasn’t as if Queen was playing next to great players his first two years in the league, either. We’re talking names like Chris Board, L.J. Fort, Josh Bynes and Malik Harrison.
From Queen’s vantage point, he certainly improved when Smith landed in town.Â
Smith taking the green dot from him undoubtedly helped Queen play faster and more free without the pre-snap communication he needed to make as the key communicator for the Ravens’ defense. Sometimes, players aren’t able to handle that stuff pre-snap. That’s okay. He won’t have to worry about that in Pittsburgh with Elandon Roberts as the leader in the room.
His first two seasons in Baltimore were a mess. Queen graded out at 29.7 as a rookie and 43.5 in his second season. Then, in Year 3 after Smith arrived, Queen took off. He graded out at a 70.0 in 2022 and a 73.1 in 2023. He earned a Second Team All-Pro last season, too. It’s worth noting that Smith became a First Team All-Pro once he came to Baltimore.
This argument, though, that Queen only became who he’s been the last two years because of Smith is entirely unfair though and discredits all the growth and development has undergone in recent years, taking his time to fully transition to the NFL level at a very demanding position.
We’ll see how Queen performs in Pittsburgh after learning next to Smith the last two seasons. But expecting Queen to crash and burn without his running mate seems rather absurd.
