OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- In a span of two days of the 2020 NFL draft, the Baltimore Ravens went from having a question mark in the middle of their defense to perhaps landing the answers that will help them reach the Super Bowl.
Drafting two inside linebackers in the first three rounds -- LSU’s Patrick Queen and Ohio State’s Malik Harrison -- could figure prominently in trying to defeat the last two teams standing in the AFC last season.
Queen, the No. 28 overall pick, has the speed to match up with the mobile Patrick Mahomes and the quick-hitting plays of the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Harrison, the third of Baltimore’s four third-round selections, has the size to take on Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans' punishing running game.
"Me and him together is probably the most dynamic duo in the linebacker corps,” Harrison said.
Since Lamar Jackson took over as the Ravens' starting quarterback midway through the 2018 season, Baltimore has lost five of 24 games (including playoffs).
The only team to beat the Ravens twice over that span was the Chiefs, who totaled seven touchdowns, 945 yards and 60 points. Baltimore’s last loss came in the AFC divisional playoffs versus the Titans, who ran for 217 yards, the fourth-highest total allowed in Ravens history.
Baltimore’s offseason response: revamp the front seven. After adding defensive end Calais Campbell and defensive tackle Derek Wolfe in free agency, the Ravens then selected one of the fastest linebackers in the draft in the first round and one of the biggest in the third. With Queen and Harrison, Baltimore teams a new-age defender with an old-school one.
"You get the best of both worlds with both me and Patrick,” Harrison said. "He’s the lighter one [at 229 pounds], and I’m the heavy linebacker [at 247 pounds]. So, it’s like a one-two punch.”
There was little surprise with Baltimore's first-round decision, which came down to taking Queen over Clemson wide receiver Tee Higgins. The Ravens needed an inside linebacker after they lost four-time Pro Bowl performer C.J. Mosley in 2019 and then had two of his replacements (Josh Bynes and Patrick Onwuasor) sign elsewhere in free agency this year.
Check out some highlights that make former LSU linebacker Patrick Queen a top prospect in this year's NFL draft.
Queen, along with Oklahoma's Kenneth Murray, was widely regarded as the best inside linebacker in this year's draft. Queen was a playmaker when lined up inside with 11 defensive pressures (most in the SEC) and 10 tackles for loss (second most in the SEC).
"It was kind of a no-brainer for us," Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said of picking Queen, who was generally rated among the top 25 players in the draft. "I think sometimes when you say ‘a need pick,’ there's an implication maybe that you reached a little bit or took him a little bit higher than you would have, except for the fact that it was a need. In this case, what was great about Patrick is not only was he a need but he was also very much the very best player on the board at that time for us. When that happens, I think it's a great win for the organization.”
Baltimore then went with the unusual, but not unprecedented, move of taking another inside linebacker with the No. 98 overall pick. The Ravens have double-dipped twice previously by picking two guards in the 2007 draft (Ben Grubbs in the first round and Marshal Yanda in the third) and choosing two tight ends in the 2010 draft (Ed Dickson in the third round and Dennis Pitta in the fourth) and 2018 draft (Hayden Hurst in the first round and Mark Andrews in the third). In both instances, the second player selected ended up with a more successful career in Baltimore.
Harrison led college football's top-ranked defense with 75 tackles and finished second in pressure percentage (12.5%), trailing only Ohio State's Chase Young, the No. 2 overall pick. The Ravens feel Harrison is more like a throwback player.
"You don’t get a lot of big linebackers anymore in college football," DeCosta said. "He’s almost 250 pounds, he has long arms, he takes guys on really, really well. He’s really strong in the box and he can run. He’s a guy that really looks like an NFL linebacker.”
Queen and Harrison will have the opportunity to make an immediate impact. The Ravens allowed a franchise-worst 4.4 yards per carry last season, and the other three inside linebackers on the roster (L.J. Fort, Chris Board and Otaro Alaka) have a combined 11 NFL starts.
As a franchise that has had Ray Lewis and Mosley man the middle of its defense, Baltimore made it a priority to secure that area of the defense by grabbing two of the first seven inside linebackers drafted this year. But coach John Harbaugh warned about pigeonholing Queen and Harrison.
"It just gives us more flexibility," 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."