Ravens John Harbaugh divulges roles for rookie linebackers
The Baltimore Ravens went into the 2020 NFL Draft hoping to add playmakers and depth to their inside linebacker corps and did just that by doubling down on the position on the first two days of the draft. The Ravens were fortunate enough to not have to trade up to land the speedy Patrick Queen out of LSU who fell right into their lap at 28th overall in the first round and they circled back to the position the next day and drafted Malik Harrison out of Ohio State with the third of the four picks in round three.
Queen is the first player that the team has ever drafted from the storied program, their first linebacker taken in the first round since 2014 and head coach John Harbaugh expects him to be an every-down player and never come off the field as the MIKE with Harrison working into the mix at Weakside/WILL.
“Let [Queen] use his speed and instincts to run around and make plays in all three phases, be a three-down guy both in our base package and subpackage,” Harbaugh said “Those two guys (Queen and Harrison) will be kind of roaming in there at those two linebacker spots … and we’ll see just how much playing time they earn. We expect them to play a lot of football this year. We’re really fired up about those two guys.”
The last first-round linebacker they selected was CJ Mosely out of Alabama with the 17th overall pick and he became an instant starter at the same MIKE linebacker spot Queen will be playing. He went on to start 80 games for the Ravens including the playoffs, record 579 tackles, and make the Pro Bowl in four of his first five seasons in the league.
Last season they used a combination of young and veteran players to offset the loss of Mosley who signed a record-setting contract with the New York Jets last March but they missed having a true all in one difference-maker in the middle of their defense and it showed when and where it counted most. For the first time in over 20 decades, a Ravens’ defense allowed a per-carry average of over four yards at 4.4 on the year and that chink in the armor was savagely exploited in the team’s devastating playoff loss to the Titans and he that shall not be named until they meet again.
Both rookies are gifted athletes with Queen being viewed as the fleet-footed sideline-to-sideline playmaker with great instincts and a natural feel for the passing game and at 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds, Harrison is viewed as throwback thumper but the former high school quarterback moves extremely well for someone his size and plays with fierce physicality. They both bring versatility to the table as moveable chess pieces that can generate pressure and blow up plays on the edge or up the middle on blitzes.
“It just gives us more flexibility,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “We can move those guys around. Both of those guys have played on the edge of the defense. Both of those guys have rushed inside quite a bit. You can kind of stereotype them a little bit: You have a big thumper and you have a sideline-to-sideline speed guy. But really, they’ve both done both, and I’m sure that we can do whatever we want.”
They both have the potential to become day one starters, but starting spots aren’t given with this team no matter where a player was drafted, they are earned. They will be competing with veterans LJ Fort and Jake Ryan as well as former undrafted free agents Chris Board and Otaro Alaka for playing time.
Queen and Harrison’s transition from college to the pros will only be made easier by the presence of the loaded defensive line in front of them and the stacked secondary behind them. Even if they both don’t start right away or together, look for defensive coordinator Don ‘Wink’ Martindale to put them in a position to make plays in year one.
