Patrick Queen would be Chiefs best linebacker since Derrick Johnson
The Kansas City Chiefs have had a missing piece in the middle of their defense since moving on from Derrick Johnson. Could Patrick Queen be the solution?
As we inch closer to the 2020 NFL Draft, the questions concerning the middle of the Kansas City Chiefs defense remain in place. It’s hard to think that general manager Brett Veach wouldn’t draft a linebacker at some point with his (current stash of) five draft picks. How high do the Chiefs believe their need for a three-down linebacker is in 2020?
Linebackers have received similar treatment as running backs over the last couple of years in the NFL. While they play a role in the defense, they tend not to have much value. Kansas City has the 19th most cap space going to linebackers in 2020. Some of that is unbalanced as teams with odd fronts are paying their edge rushers who count as linebackers. That’s also with Anthony Hitchens‘ contract on the books.
There are exceptions for paying off-ball linebackers in the NFL as Seattle is paying Bobby Wagner $18 million, and the New York Jets signed C.J. Mosley last offseason to a $17 million average per year contract. Is the reason that teams aren’t paying high-dollar contracts to off-ball linebackers due to value, or is it due to there not being that many linebackers that can play all three downs at a high level?
The argument usually pertains to the mindset of not needing linebackers in a pass-heavy league. That argument brings you back to the question we just asked is whether there are many linebackers in the league that can play all three downs at a high level. Some fans have it in their mind that trotting out a third safety is the only way to play defense these days.
We can all agree that most of the time a safety is going to be better in coverage than most linebackers. What if the offense chooses to run the ball now that you have a smaller defensive back inside the box? What if you could find a linebacker that is good in coverage, but also gives you more against the run? That sounds good, right?
Earlier this week, we discussed the possibility of drafting Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray. Today, let’s take a look at LSU linebacker Patrick Queen. Both linebackers could bring help to the Chiefs defense, but Queen might have more assistance against the passing game.