Regardless of where things stand with the actual trade discussions, a deal for Queen (assuming the price is a late Day 3 draft pick, as has been floated) would be a great way to beef up the linebacker room for Christian Parker.
The former 28th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Queen starred at LSU during their national championship run before growing into a productive linebacker for the Ravens, being named to the second-team All-Pro in 2023. Despite that, Baltimore let him walk in free agency, partly due to their trade and subsequent extension for Roquan Smith.
Queen then signed a three-year deal with the Steelers, and his performance since then has been subpar, to say the least. That’s led many Cowboys fans to have a negative reaction to the trade chatter, even labeling him Kenneth Murray 2.0, which is understandable yet off the mark.
For starters, let’s rewind to Queen’s college evaluation. Here’s what Dane Brugler of The Athletic wrote up on Queen, whom he had as the second best linebacker in the draft:
A one-year starter at LSU, Queen was an inside linebacker in former defensive coordinator Dave Aranda’s 3-4 scheme. His first career start came vs. Alabama in 2018 when Devin White was sidelined (due to a targeting penalty) and he steadily grew into one of LSU’s top defensive performers, playing 89.5% of defensive snaps over the second half of the 2019 season.
One of the youngest players in the draft, Queen has outstanding play speed and can run all day, smoothly transferring his weight and closing with purpose. He is still developing his stack-shed ability and finishing skills, but shows natural read-react quickness and the meanspirited personality required for the position.
Overall, Queen doesn’t have an extensive resume, but he is a super athletic run-and-hit linebacker with excellent mirror skills and the fluidity to turn and run in coverage, projecting as a high-upside NFL starter with every-down ability.
It’s important to understand what Queen was coming out, and where he stands today as a player. Brugler hit on several key things in his analysis, noting Queen as “a one-year starter” and “one of the youngest players in the draft” without “an extensive résumé.”
In other words, Queen was very raw coming into the league.
Yet, Queen also possessed natural talent. Not only was he physically gifted, Queen was also a physical player, something that Brian Schottenheimer has stressed as a key trait in all players since becoming the head coach in Dallas.