Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan has been aggressive in his acquisition of new players, like the signing of Patrick Queen. At $41 million over three years, the expectations from fans of the Black and Gold were incredibly high. That's probably why it did not take them long to get restless when it felt like Queen was not producing at the level everyone expected.
Through the first four games, Queen seemed to struggle to find his role, which is evident by the fact that two safeties led the team in tackles. Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded Queen only 40.0 through Week 4, 30.0 against the run, and 29.8 in the passing game. There was even a forced fumble by Elliott that landed on Queen's feet, which he failed to pick up.
The Steelers are 5-2, and Queen has improved over the past three weeks. As of Week 7, PFF shows his grades are better. He is 48.6 overall, 73.0 in the pass rush, and 43.3 against the run. In coverage, they grade him 51.8. He has 31 total tackles, but zero interceptions or sacks. Those scores are low, but are trending in the right direction.
Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show said patience is the key. He spoke with Joe Starkey on The Joe Starkey Show on 93.7 The Fan and was asked about Queen's improved gameplay and assertiveness.
"You just have to give a guy time to fit into a new situation," said Kaboly. "I know he was a guy who's got a big contract, making the highest free agent contract in the history of the Steelers, but sometimes it takes time. He's still a young guy. They are finding a different role for him that fits and he was able to play extremely well the past couple of seasons. As you move forward, you have to imagine that he's just going to get better and better and better. I don't think he's missed a snap this year. I think he's a star player, still a young player. I think he's played extremely well, and I don't see that's going to be anything less moving forward. He's just going to get better."
Kaboly said that he thinks having Payton Wilson next to Queen is helping. Wilson remarkably fell to the Steelers in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft in large part because of his lack of ACLs. However, that doesn't frighten the Steelers; former All-Pros Hines Ward and Greg Lloyd were both missing theirs.
He added that fans tend to rush to judgment on players who aren't performing at a high level. He understands the feeling that they paid someone a lot of money, and you expect them to have a high impact. However, a player like Queen needs to be given the time to learn the system and develop into it.
Steelers' Patrick Queen Proving Arthur Moats Right
After the Week 4 PFF grades were released, former Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats defended Queen on his podcast, The Arthur Moats Experience. Like Kaboly's comments, Moats said almost a month ago that he believed Queen would improve and should be given some time.
Moats said that the missed tackles appeared to be primarily from conditioning. He said that this is conditioning that comes from playing in games, not camp or practice. There is a difference between what he did with the Baltimore Ravens and what he's doing here. While the Ravens had Queen in for the majority of the snaps, he was not playing the same way he is expected to in Pittsburgh.
Queen is also wearing the green dot, which adds an extra layer of work to his job. He not only physically has to be in on every play, but he also mentally has to be the quarterback of the defense. Moats predicted that Queen would start to improve within a few games and should continue to get better each week; so far, he is proving him right.
