Ravens expect rookie LBs Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison to play a lot this year

[Poe the Raven]

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The Ravens had one of the league’s top defenses last year and a pair of rookie linebackers are set to play a big role in their attempt to do so again this year.

Patrick Queen was the team’s first-round pick and Malik Harrison came aboard in the third round to give the Ravens a pair of young players to plug into their defense. With Josh Bynes and Patrick Onwuasor gone in free agency, head coach John Harbaugh said the plan is to have both guys front and center from the jump.

“Those two guys will kind of be roaming in there at those two linebacker spots, both base and sub, and we’ll just see how much playing time they earn,” Harbaugh said, via Jeff Zrebiec of TheAthletic.com. “We expect them to play a lot of football this year. We’re really fired up about those two guys.”

The Ravens also signed veteran inside linebacker Jake Ryan, but it sounds like their first option will be to go young in the middle of their defense.