Cincinnati Bengals draft profile: Patrick Queen

Patrick Queen flew under the radar up until recently, but I see him as one of the best linebackers in the 2020 draft. Here’s my breakdown on the LSU linebacker:

Patrick Queen was a key part of LSU’s undefeated National Championship season. The junior had 85 total tackles, 3 sacks, and an interception. His stats aren’t something that wow you when you look at them, but he’s a very athletic player and I think he has a lot of potential.

At 6’1, 227lbs, he has solid size for a linebacker. As I said, I think he has plenty of upside, but there are some concerns as well. Here are some strengths and weaknesses I see in Queen:

Strengths:

Queen has tremendous athletic ability. He’s very fast for a linebacker and is strong at the point of attack. He has great vision and always seems to find his way to the ball. He uses his quickness very well getting around blockers and is a great tackler.

Watching his film, it was rare to see him miss a tackle. He finds the ball, gets to it, and makes a play. I like his ability to close passing windows, and although sometimes he loses the player he’s guarding, he uses his quickness to keep himself in a position to make a play.

I really like his effort. Even when he’s not in on the tackle, he is always trying to put himself in position to get involved.

He’s pretty solid in pass rush as well. Although he didn’t have a ton of sacks, when he’s rushing the passer he’s very good at getting pressure on the quarterback.

Weaknesses:

The biggest weakness I can find in the LSU linebacker is his ability in man coverage. Like I said earlier though, he makes up for errors with effort. He has the size and speed to improve his man coverage, so that’s something coaching can fix. Overall, he’s slightly inexperienced, but I think he has a lot of raw talent.

I see Queen as a potential star linebacker in the NFL, something the Cincinnati Bengals could use. I think professional coaching will help him a lot, given he has very high upside due to his natural gifts.

It’s hard to know what round he’ll be selected in as of right now, but I think if he falls to the Bengals in the second or third round he’d be an excellent pick. Depending on how free agency goes, I still really like Mekhi Becton at pick 33, but Patrick Queen is someone you want to keep on your radar.