Buy Or Sell: Patrick Queen doesn’t need Roquan Smith to be a Pro Bowl linebacker.
Explanation: Many fans, particularly Ravens fans, like to claim that Roquan Smith made Patrick Queen who he is. The Steelers traded for Smith in the middle of Queen’s third season, and he steadily improved from there. In his one full season as Smith’s teammate, Queen exploded and earned All-Pro honors. But he was already a young player on the rise before Smith got here.
Buy:
Just because Patrick Queen was already on the ascent doesn’t mean that playing next to a great player didn’t raise his game. Because you know what? It did. You have to look beyond the numbers of the 2022 season because if you watched those games in the second half of the season, Queen and Roquan Smith were on another level.
And he only got better after spending the full offseason training with and learning from Smith. Yes, Queen learned things from Smith that he could take with him, but he also learned to play with Smith. Now, he is playing next to Elandon Roberts, a very different player and less complementary to his skill set.
And let’s not pretend that Pro Bowler is not a high standard for a linebacker. Do we really expect Queen to earn a Pro Bowl nod this year? The thing is, the Steelers don’t need him to be a Pro Bowler. They just need him to be that engine of the defense, even if it’s not top-tier level.
Sell:
This is one of the most bunk and laziest observations I can recall hearing in sports in a while. Let’s start with one obvious point: correlation does not equal causation. Just because Patrick Queen played better once the Ravens brought in Roquan Smith doesn’t mean that is the reason why.
The reason that Queen played better from the middle of his third season on is because he continued to grow. Here’s some perspective: Queen was 23 years, two months, and 26 days old the first time he played with Smith. The Steelers drafted multiple players who were older than that this year before even playing a game. He’s nearly the same age as Payton Wilson now.
And was he really that better? In the first eight games of 2022, Queen recorded 53 tackles, five for loss, with 3.5 sacks, eight hits, a forced fumble, and an interception. In the final nine, he had 64 tackles, four for loss, 1.5 sacks, six hits, and an interception. Statistics only tell part of the story, but Queen was already better in 2022 before Smith.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they needed a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
