Just a few weeks after stating at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine that the inside linebacker position was one that the team needed to address, Pittsburgh Steelers GM Omar Khan struck quickly before the official start of free agency, landing arguably the best linebacker in a deep free-agent class in former Baltimore Ravens standout Patrick Queen.
Khan and the Steelers reportedly reeled in Queen on a three-year, $41 million deal, simultaneously snagging him from their AFC North rival Ravens Tuesday afternoon and plugging a major hole on the roster.
In recent years, after the Ravens acquired Roquan Smith via trade from the Chicago Bears, Queen took off. Putting together a dominant 2023 season, he recorded a career-high 133 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and one interception, earning second-team All-Pro accolades.
Now, he’s a Pittsburgh Steeler, giving the Black and Gold a high-end linebacker to plug into the middle of the defense. At just 24 years old, Queen’s best football appears to be ahead of him, though it is fair to question how much of his improvement in recent years was due to having Smith next to him.
Time will tell. The Steelers don’t have Smith. They do have a steady veteran in Elandon Roberts though, which is huge.
So, what are the Steelers getting in the linebacker who is coming off an All-Pro season? Glad you asked.
Let’s dive into the tape.
The thing that stands out right away with Queen is his patience and ability to stay under control and square to the line of scrimmage as a run defender. He rarely plays out of control. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast with Queen.
It shows up a bunch as a run defender.
Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Queen got his 2023 season off to a fast start. He played the run extremely well and made a bunch of plays all over the field.
This rep against the run really caught my eye. He is very patient, understanding his gap responsibilities, and doesn’t overcommit. He forces running back Joe Mixon to make a decision on the hole he wants to hit, and due to his positioning and staying square to the line of scrimmage, Queen is able to make the stop.
Similar thing in Week 3 last season against the Cleveland Browns on the road.
Queen’s eyes take him to the football consistently as a run defender.
He is able to process quickly and sift through the garbage in front of him to find the ball. At the same time, look at how he stays square to the line of scrimmage throughout the entire rep. He’s so under control and doesn’t ever feel rushed while defending the run.
It’s quite impressive to watch.
Same thing against the Steelers in Week 18 in poor conditions.
Though he slips a bit, he’s still able to stay square and make a play against running back Najee Harris.
While he doesn’t exactly attack downhill all that much against the run, his ability to stay square, find the football and stay assignment-sound is a real calling card for Queen.
He’s rarely out of position.
The downside to that style of play though is that he often allows linemen to reach him at the second level and has a tough time truly getting off those blocks. Queen prefers to slip blocks rather than take them on head-on. He doesn’t have much physicality in his game while taking on blocks, which is noticeable on tape.
Teams have success when they run right at him with a lineman working to the second level to get a hat on him.
To Queen’s credit, he’ll stand in there and fight, trying to take on the block. But he doesn’t have the strength to truly stand in and succeed in those situations.
That patient play style can hurt Queen, too, especially when things get really muddy in front of him.
Though he processes well and finds the ball much more often than not as a run defender, he has some tough reps on tape where his patience costs him.
Ugly rep here against the Indianapolis Colts last season. Running back Zack Moss bursts off the left side and blows by Queen, who clearly couldn’t find the football. Instead of working downhill to try and cover the lane, he stayed patient and searched inside. Explosive play for the Colts.
That said, the tape as a run defender is really solid overall. A lot to like.
Queen flows sideline to sideline really well and really covers ground well.
He works over the top consistently and cuts plays off, especially on stretch plays. Again, he is able to stay square to the line of scrimmage, uses his hands well to get off a block from Cleveland center Nick Harris and gets into the hole for the stop.
Again, not an overly physical player, especially when attacking downhill against blockers, but when he does, he is really effective.
That is good stuff from Queen, blowing up the blocker and then somehow making a play on Mixon after, at one point, having his back to Mixon in the hole.
Queen fights tooth and nail to make plays consistently, and that will win over a lot of people in Pittsburgh moving forward.
Outside of his work as a strong run defender, Queen is an effective blitzer, one who really impacts the game.
Last season alone, Queen led all linebackers with 20 quick pressures despite blitzing at just the 23rd-highest rate among LBs, according to Next Gen Stats. Queen was credited with generating a 25.5% pressure rate in 2023, the sixth-highest among linebackers, according to Next Gen Stats.
He knows how to hide his intentions as a blitzer, and his ability to explode from a standstill is eye-opening.
Quick-twitch athleticism in play right there, and he has the power to finish through the blocker, getting to the quarterback for the sack.
That should play well in Pittsburgh.
Make no mistake though: Queen is going to have a sizable role in coverage, too.
In his career, Queen grades out at a 52.25 from Pro Football Focus, but that number is not indicative of his play in coverage the last two seasons. In 2023, Queen graded out at a 74.8 in coverage, allowing 59 receptions for 489 yards and two touchdowns. He had one interception and three pass breakups.
Queen has the speed and overall athleticism to carry the seam in coverage, and he can drop deep downfield well too.
He has some issues in man coverage though, especially when changing directions and tracking the ball down the field.
It’s not as if he’s in bad position on either of these plays, but they show some of his limitations.
He doesn’t have a great feel in man coverage in space and loses track of the Cincinnati tight end on the out and up for the big play.
Against the Colts, he has a tough time tracking the football in the air, loses sight of the running back and can’t make a play on the football, leading to the touchdown.
He’s a fine coverage linebacker, but certainly not one of the best in the game. He ranked 16th in the NFL last season in coverage grade for linebackers, in the same group of names like T.J. Edwards, Jerome Baker and Kwon Alexander, who played nine games for the Steelers last season before tearing his Achilles tendon.
Patrick Queen is a three-down linebacker and at the top of his class in the free agent market. It’s a good signing for the Steelers, plugging a major hole on the roster, one that has largely existed since the days of Ryan Shazier.
He’s not a savior though, and the concerns about his game pre-Roquan Smith will be brought up often now that he’s not lining up next to the perennial All-Pro. But the Steelers did a very good job here pouncing on one of the top linebackers available, getting him on a very affordable deal and adding a young, high-end playmaker to an aging defense.
