Eric DeCosta Offers Scouting Report on Kenneth Murray, Patrick Queen
The Ravens are looking to add a linebacker in this year's NFL Draft and will likely pounce if Oklahoma's Kenneth Murray or LSU's Patrick Queen fall to them with the 28th overall pick.
However, the Ravens might be forced to trade up several spots to grab one of those players because both are valued by other teams. Murray and Queen each have been projected to go in the early twenties on many draft boards.
Murray is the highest-rated linebacker on some draft boards. Murray tied for eleventh in school history in total tackles (335) and tied for eighth among linebackers for sacks (9.5) over his 42 career games in Norman, Ok.
"Tremendous athlete, a cerebral guy, he's got really good length," DeCosta said about Murray. "He's been a really good defensive player on a team that really hasn't had a lot of really good defensive players lately. He's a great student of the game, he's got great intangibles."
Queen has the talent to make an immediate impact in Baltimore because of his speed and physicality. He was ranked third on the Tigers with 77 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks over 14 games last season. Queen is being compared to Giants linebacker Ryan Connely by several draft analysts.
"LSU has put a number of really good defensive players in the league over the last four or five years," DeCosta said. He's a guy that's sideline to sideline, he can play downhill, he's a very good cover linebacker. He was not a household name before this year. He played his best football probably over the second half of the season, really good performances in the playoffs and national championship."
Baltimore has never taken a player from LSU in 24 years of NFL Drafts, spanning 201 total selections, including one supplemental pick in 2007.
"It really just depends what flavor you like, Murray or Queen," DeCosta said. "I think they're looked at side by side as probably two of the very best inside linebackers."
