Halicke: Queen's addition on defense is a game-changer

There's a lot of attention around the Steelers' overhaul at quarterback, and that's more than understandable since it's the most important position in football. However, the Steelers' signing of Patrick Queen cannot and should not be overlooked.

No matter how the game evolves, having an elite defense will always help teams have a better chance of playing game in late January, and maybe even make it all the way to the second Sunday of February. With Queen now trading out his black and purple for black and gold, the Steelers have an elite player on all three levels of their defense.

For the past two seasons, Queen has been playing his best football. With a career-high 133 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one interception, one pass defensed and one forced fumble, Queen earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2023, and also earned second team All-Pro honors.

The largest perceived concern around Queen signing a three-year, $41-million contract is that his game took off right as the Ravens acquired Roquan Smith in the middle of the 2022 season. However, in taking a closer look at the film, Queen's game doesn't require an elite linebacker next to him.

The first thing that jumps off the page is Queen's ability to run sideline to sideline and attack ball carriers while doing so:

This is back from the 2021 season, Queen's second year in the league. And, yes, that's him running down Justin Fields to minimize a gain on the ground. 

The Steelers have needed a guy like this in the middle of the defense for a long time. Queen is an elite athlete with great speed. Couple that with a high football IQ, and you have a player like Queen that can make extraordinary plays like this while moving laterally. In today's game, with the way offenses deploy speed to test defenses horizontally, having a guy like Queen is a must.

The good thing about Queen's run defense is he's not just a sideline to sideline guy. One thing I really loved about Queen's film was his football IQ and instincts while defending either gap/man or zone concepts, as well. He does a great job of keeping his shoulders square while maintaining gap integrity, then uses his athleticism to react to the ball carrier before the blocker can get to him on the second level.

But, another thing about Queen's run defense is his ability to make plays against the run outside of the structure of the defense:

This is a great example of Queen showcasing his instincts in run defense, and using his superb speed and athleticism to make a phenomenal play. Many other linebackers could easily get washed away, trying to defend laterally along the second level and shoot a gap. That's what offenses are trying to do when running a zone concept like this one. However, Queen improvises and takes a different route outside the weak-side tackle and is able to get to Najee Harris for no gain on third-and-1, forcing a punt.

These are the types of plays that separate the great players from the good players. It's one thing for players to do their job within the structure of the defense. Queen can do that. But, it takes a great player to be able to trust his instincts and make plays the offense isn't anticipating. That doesn't require a Roquan Smith-type player next to him.

If there's any sizable flaw in Queen's run defense, it's his missed tackle rate. According to Pro Football Focus, Queen missed 15.1% of his tackle attempts last season. For context, Joey Porter Jr. missed only 12.2% of his tackle attempts in 2023, and his struggles as a tackler were well-documented throughout his rookie campaign. Queen's not the biggest guy, and he also doesn't have very long arms. That can be a plausible reason for some missed tackles every now and then.

Fortunately for the Steelers, the film helps provide some silver lining when looking at Queen's missed tackle rate. In watching a few different games, a lot of the missed tackles looked a lot more like this:

It's hard to call this a missed tackle, and it's definitely not a whiff. But, it's not finishing a tackle and lets the ball carrier have a crack at more yards. If a player is going to miss some tackles, you'd prefer it to look a little more like this, where it at least slows the ball carrier down and gives other defenders an opportunity to make a play.

Even so, Queen's ability as a run defender certainly upgrades the Steelers' linebacker room. There's no question about that. The Steelers haven't had a linebacker that can move sideline to sideline like this since Ryan Shazier. And, to reiterate, Queen is also a very instinctive and smart player when it comes to gap integrity and knowing when to improvise to make a play.

But, all run defense aside, Queen really brings a lot to the table as a pass rusher. No surprise, but Queen's speed and athleticism also helps in this area. As fast as Queen is laterally, he's even faster when he's running downhill. When you watch clips like this, it's easy to see why he's racked up 13.5 sacks from the second level over four NFL seasons:

But remember, Queen's a smart player, and not just as a run defender. Queen's prowess as a pass rusher also paves the way for his teammates to also get to the quarterback. And, if there's anything Mike Tomlin wants his defense to do, getting after the quarterback is one of them.

Watch this play from last season, and you can see what I'm talking about:

The Ravens like to run a lot of stunts. On this one, you can see how Queen does his job to free up Justin Madubuike coming inside on the stunt for a one-on-one with Jaylen Warren. The penetration Queen gets knocks the guard backward where he has absolutely no chance of recovering and puts Warren in a bad spot against a really, really good pass rusher. Queen puts the cherry on top by flat out beating Nate Herbig and getting credit for a half sack.

Now, imagine Queen doing something similar to free up Cam Heyward coming from the B-gap, or maybe free up T.J. Watt from the edge. Queen's smarts as a pass rusher can help elevate other pass rushers on the team, and the Steelers have the league's best in Watt, Alex Highsmith is a good complement on the other edge, and Keeanu Benton is a talented pass rusher from the interior, as well. This part of Queen's game cannot be overlooked. In fact, it might even be more valuable than his run defense.

When Queen isn't rushing the passer, how he can contribute in pass coverage is a significant factor. The Steelers have long been without guys who can help take away space in pass coverage at the second level. And while it's probably the most inconsistent part of his game, Queen still gives the Steelers a very good option in coverage at off-ball linebacker.

There are two big ways Queen can make a big impact in coverage. First, his ability to use his speed to defend the flat is much needed in this defense. Too often have the Steelers given up chunks on passes to the flat. Queen can help limit those type of plays:

I've got this one slowed down a bit so you can watch how Queen combines his physical ability with his football smarts. Queen first goes to the tight end to defend the intermediate route, but he does so while keeping his eyes on Joe Burrow. As soon as Burrow goes to check down to Joe Mixon, Queen reacts and accelerates to Mixon, limiting him to a 2-yard gain.

Plays like these can be overlooked far too often. This is gold for the Steelers' defense. Minkah Fitzpatrick's really the only one that's been able to pull off these type of plays on a consistent basis, and the Steelers are much better off by letting Minkah be Minkah, not having to play de facto linebacker.

Of course, Queen can do more than just defend the flat. His athleticism can serve well in the middle of the field, especially since the Steelers still deploy a good helping of Tampa 2 in their system. Tomlin and Teryl Austin have seen firsthand Queen's ability to read and react in the middle of the field:

For less than $14 million per season, Queen's addition to the defense is a steal. The traits that he displayed in all these examples from studying a few different games transcend any need to have an elite linebacker next to him. This is not a situation in which Queen has to be "Robin" to someone else's "Batman" in order to make an impact. 

In fact, I believe Elandon Roberts is a really good complement alongside Queen. Roberts also has exceptional gap integrity in run defense, which would free up Queen to trust his instincts and just play, not having to worry about overcompensating for anyone else. In fact, for those who put any stock in PFF's grading system, Roberts graded higher in run defense last season than Smith. A pairing of Queen and Roberts and linebacker gives the Steelers a superb duo at stopping the run.

Any player that gets to play alongside another great player will always benefit from it. However, I saw nothing on film that tells me Queen needed Smith to be productive. On the contrary, signing Queen gives the Steelers an elite player on each level of the defense. That's a game-changer.