Does Patrick Queen’s admiration for Jaylen Warren impact Najee Harris Fifth-Year Option
by Bo Marchionte
Published March 15, 2024, 09:37 PM
Pittsburgh, PA – We’ve come to learn that second year general manager Omar Khan of the Pittsburgh Steelers is doing his best to fast track the franchise back into serious top tier National Football League team consideration.
Considering he didn’t delay in ridding themselves of first round pick Kenny Pickett after drafting him in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft and immediately signed former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen displays a pulse as the Steelers were getting long in the tooth with their current way of doing things.
Queen took to the podium to talk to the Pittsburgh media for the first time accompanied by both Kuhn and head coach Mike Tomlin whom Queen said was the vessel that helped him arrive in Pittsburgh.
“That man standing right there,” Queen said of Tomlin. “I think just the organization itself is known for winning, great defense, and a bunch of stars over here. Just wanted to come be a part of that and be that extra piece to try to win again.”
Exchanging the Inner Harbor of Baltimore for the three rivers of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny River, Monongahela River that form the Ohio River, Queen knows he has become the ‘Villain’ and is willing to embrace that role with the Steelers.
“Definitely. It’s going to be weird, but I want to be that villain, that guy, so I’m looking to do some stuff to them,” Queen said.
Queen played his college football at LSU and faced the likes of then Alabama running back Najee Harris who entered the league in 2021 one year after Queen was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2020.
However, when asked about having any animosity or disliking of a player it wasn’t another former SEC companion but undrafted running back Jaylen Warren who played his final year of college football at Oklahoma State.
“Yeah, (laughter.) Mr. Warren. Mr. Warren (Jaylen Warren), yeah. Yeah, yeah, that guy,” Queen said. “He’s a hell of a running back. Strong catch. Short to the ground. Low center of gravity. I definitely hated playing against him and personally hated him. At the end of the day, it’s all love. I do respect his game and him as a person. You know, I just can’t wait to play with somebody that plays like that.”
Harris, who has averaged a pedestrian 3.9 yards per carry over his three seasons while accumulating over 1,000 rushing leaves the Steelers with plenty to think about with the rising star in Warren as the deadline for clubs to exercise Fifth-Year Option for players selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft is May 2nd.
“We have the first week in May to make a decision,” Khan said at the NFL Combine to local media. “We have a new offensive coordinator (Author Smith) and that’s going to play into the decision-making process.”
In Warren’s rookie season of 2022, he finished with 77 carries compared to Harris’s 272 touches. Out of the backfield Warren trailed Harris 41 to 28 in receptions. When the dust settled after Warren’s second season the gap closed significantly.
Warren nearly doubled his carries with 149 to Harris’s 255 and his impact in the passing game was huge. The second year back caught 61 passes compared to Harris with 29 and finished third on the team with 74 targets.
Curious to know if Queen’s once animosity now admiration of Warren lingered in the minds of Khan and Tomlin after they left the press conference after he said Warren was the one guy he hated to play against after just two seasons. Even more curious to know if Khan will continue his momentum in changing the landscape of this franchise with a fast and furious demeaner.
Something Steelers Nation is not familiar with.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com
