Ravens Position Groups: Reviewing the Linebackers

After reviews on the Ravens in the trenches on both sides of the ball, we’ll now focus on the linebacking group. Inside and outside.

2021 began with high expectations for one Patrick Queen. The Ravens first round draft pick in 2020. The highly athletic, defensive general, from the national champion LSU Tigers the year before. 2020 thrust him right into the spotlight as a rookie and he played like a rookie, or worse. During the offseason there was rumblings that he wasn’t understanding Don Martindale’s defense. He spent too much time thinking and not reacting, and thus getting completely blocked out of plays, instead of flying to the football. Enter year two, in training camp it sounded like he was getting the hang of it from new linebackers coach, Rob Ryan. In preseason games he was crashing the holes, blowing up screen passes, looking like a Preseason Pro Bowler if there was such a thing. The real games began, and it was almost like the rookie walked back in the door.

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In the first six weeks, Queen missed 10 tackles. In coverage he allowed 165 yards after catch. Both marks among the league’s worst in that time frame.  It was in week 6 that veteran Josh Bynes returned to the fold and took Queen’s spot as the communicator on the strong side, and the struggling sophomore slid over to the weak side. At that position, he just has to worry about finding the football, and rarely has to account for the tight end.

Once the switch was made, the last 11 games, Queen only missed two tackles. He allowed only 56 yards after catch.

The numbers don’t lie. Queen is a perfect fit at the weak side. It’s not a knock-on Queen. Nothing wrong with being the new Bart Scott. But a veteran communicator is needed on the strong side.

Is that going to be Malik Harrison? I hope not. Could the Ravens retain Josh Bynes and or L.J. Fort for that role? Maybe. It’d be cheaper. Fort was in the weakside rotation with Harrison and Chris Board in 2020 before injury kept him out all of 2021. I don’t think he’s the answer. Bynes is a fine player but not a game changer.

Queen, Harrison, and Kristian Welch who will show up more on special teams are the only guys on the depth chart for two inside linebacker positions today. So, the Ravens have to do something. The question I would have is could Queen understand new defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald’s scheme? He was an assistant under the aforementioned Martindale, so how much will Macdonald’s playbook, his verbiage differ? Those are questions we’ll probably never know, so for the sake of this argument, Queen can’t play strong side anymore.

With teams starting to agree to terms before free agency officially begins, two names that jump out that were recently released from their teams are Bobby Wagner and Jordan Hicks. Wagner has been a flat-out stud for a number of years, but age could catch up as he will soon be 32. The six-time All-Pro could be due for some regression, but he can afford it and still be a quality linebacker, and someone the young guys in this room can look up to and learn from.

Jordan Hicks is not as decorated as Bobby Wagner, but still a solid, reliable, well-rounded linebacker. He hasn’t missed a game in his three years as a Cardinal, despite demanding a trade when the team preemptively named rookie Zaven Collins the starter for 2021. Hicks ended up leading the Arizona defense in snaps played. He brings a little more speed than some other linebackers and shows up in the box score with a few interceptions and a few sacks each year.

Foyesade Oluokun led the league in tackles last year for the Falcons, and the 26-year-old Ivy Leaguer will agree to a three-year deal with the Jaguars worth $45M, $28M guaranteed. Hicks and Wagner likely won’t eclipse the $15M AAV mark with their ages which bodes well for the Ravens.

If Hicks and Wagner don’t land here, another solid player that would come on the cheaper end being 30 years of age is Anthony Barr. Former ninth overall pick in the 2014 draft has been a stalwart and captain on the Vikings defense with a propensity for rushing the quarterback. Also a fit on the strong side.

I’m mentioning veteran free agents here because I don’t want the role of strong side linebacker going to someone in the draft. I don’t think the 14^th overall pick should be used at the position. It’s also a cheaper position to fill in free agency than the edge spots which I’ll hit on next.

The Ravens appear to be in slightly better shape on the outside. Last year’s second of two first round picks, Odafe Oweh, had a pretty solid rookie campaign. Pro Football Focus put him on their All-Rookie team. He was key in the Ravens getting over the Kansas City hump, with a strip sack of Patrick Mahomes late in the week 2 game that pretty much exercised that demon.

He did have long stretches where he did not show up in the pressure department though. But a full NFL offseason, the world returning to some normalcy post-pandemic, hopes are high that the raw prospect will develop into a force in year two.

Opposite Oweh is Tyus Bowser, who plays more of a coverage role, but is well rounded and a near every down player. Very reliable. But then again, here are where the questions come in. Veterans Justin Houston and Pernell McPhee are on their way out. Pretty good veterans, but not nearly game changers anymore. If almost sacks was a stat, Houston might have led the league. But, those two vets accounted for 811 snaps played, walking out the door.

It leaves behind Jaylon Ferguson in his contract year, and second year player Daelin Hayes, who missed most of 2021 with injury. Ferguson never lived up to the potential that comes with the NCAA’s sack leader, and only saw 133 snaps last year. It was hard for him to find playing time meaning he isn’t making coaches notice during the practice week. His snap count has gone down each year since 2019.  Hayes played 4 snaps last year. The Ravens are not going to improve up their 34 sacks in 2021, good enough for 24th in the league, if they don’t address the position. Martindale drew up blitzes from corners and safeties often, taking pressure off the edge rushers to perform. But I’d really like to see Macdonald and his edge rushers generate pressure in a four man rush and not leave the secondary vulnerable to the big play that killed them, often in 2021.

Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic has reported that the Ravens are interested in a reunion with the Packers Za’Darius Smith. Green Bay is some $45M over the salary cap so they will not be retaining as many guys as they would like. Aaron Rodgers might have to play two ways when 2022 begins. They are paying him enough to anyway. But for a player of Smith’s caliber, the price tag that comes with edge rushers, could the Ravens fit him into their roughly $15M of cap space? They can always do some pencil whipping, but at what cost, and could they make meaningful additions elsewhere?

Dane Brugler, also of The Athletic, listed of the top 100 prospects in the NFL, 17 of them are edge rushers. Most of any position, to give you an idea of the kind of depth there in this years class. Perhaps a day two pick could be spent there that would in other years be a first round selection.

BSL’s own Mike Fast has put together a great number of scouting reports this offseason. He likes Jermaine Johnson II out of Florida State, and Travon Walker from Georgia to probably be there when the Ravens go on the clock in round 1. Maybe most intriguing would be David Ojabo from Michigan. There is the obvious Mike Macdonald tie in, but also as Mike Fast pointed out, Ojabo was high school teammates with Odafe Oweh. I hope god had mercy on the quarterbacks in those games. Yikes.

Another name in the day two area to keep on eye on is Arnold Ebiketie out of Penn State. Weren’t teammates with Oweh as he transferred in from Temple. But he calls Montgomery County home. Kensington, Maryland. At the combine, his 21 reps on the bench, a powerful 38 inch vertical, and a 10.75’ broad jump give him an explosion score of 69.75. That is a noteworthy score. Over 60 is good. Approaching 70, you have to find a really good reason not to draft players with that kind of power on the edge.

All is quiet so far in Baltimore. That’s going to have to change this week in some of the positions we’ve discussed.