Las Vegas Raiders 2020 NFL Draft prospect profile: Patrick Queen

Resume and Accolades

Patrick Queen, unlike his contemporary Kenneth Murray, did not have a particularly productive college career. Queen did not become a starter until his junior season but it is understandable as he was stuck behind a future top five pick and Butkus Award winner Devin White. After White made his way to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Queen stepped into his role at inside linebacker and excelled.

Queen finished his junior season with 85 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, one INT, and three sacks. He was the unquestioned leader of the LSU defense and capped it off by being named the defensive MVP of the 2020 National Championship Game after racing up 2.5 tackles for a loss and a sack.

After the season, Queen followed up a strong final college season with a very good performance at the NFL Combine. Queen had the fourth best 40 time among LBs at 4.50, 11th best vertical jump at 35 inches, 8th best broad jump at 125 inches, and put up a respectable 18 reps on the bench press.

What seems to have many scouts intrigued is the potential Queen displays rather than what he has shown on the field. NFL.com’s draft profile describes Queen as “an early starter with a sky-high ceiling” who has the “desired sheriff mentality and disposition as inside ‘backer” and can “cover tight ends and running backs”.

Queen appears to be the next great linebacker to come out of LSU but there are concerns about his size and play recognition ability that some teams may choose to ignore or diagnose as not worth dropping him on their draft boards. If the Raiders decide that he is worthy of an early pick, where would he fit in Paul Guenther’s defense?