LB Patrick Queen was the crown jewel of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 free agent class. The former first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens had four straight seasons of nine-plus tackles for a loss and had at least one interception in three of his four seasons with the Steelers’ AFC North rivals.
But Queen has not made a big impact in his first two games in a Steelers jersey. He only has six total tackles and one pass defended. Thankfully, the lack of production has not hurt the Steelers’ defense at all. The Steelers allowed 10 points in the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons and only six to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. But is the big free-agent signee’s early production a problem?
“I just don’t think he’s playing good football right now,” Former Steelers DL Chris Hoke said on the KDKA Extra Point postgame show. “He’s having a tough time engaging offensive linemen and getting off those linemen. I see him getting knocked back too much and getting locked up and that’s not his game. His game is more of a speed game where he’s got to get over the top. I don’t know if he’s not comfortable in this defense yet but last week two tackles, this week only four tackles for a high-priced free agent coming over from the Baltimore defense where he played really, really well. It leaves me scratching my head.”
Steelers Depot’s Jonathan Heitritter saw similar things when he did his tape review of Queen’s debut versus Atlanta. He charged him with three missed tackles on five tackle attempts. Queen got into position to bring ball carriers down but failed to do so more often than not.
Pro Football Focus has similarly been unimpressed with Queen’s start in Pittsburgh. Against the Falcons, PFF gave Queen a 28.8 grade, thanks in big part to his run defense (26.7) and tackling (26.1). It gave him a slightly higher coverage grade (49.4), but they PFF him targeted twice with two receptions allowed.
Is this a cause for concern? The Steelers signed Queen to a three-year contract worth up to $41 million. That’s a lot of money for a lack of production. But Queen is still acclimating to Pittsburgh’s defense. His performance is a disappointment through two games, sure. But it certainly hasn’t hurt the Steelers’ performance yet.
The fact that the Steelers have played so well on defense is mitigating any issues with Queen’s game early. If he can’t turn things around and it starts costing the Steelers wins, then the concern will go through the roof. But these games will be nothing more than a blip if Queen starts playing like he did the last two seasons.
