Ravens Winners and Losers From Roquan Smith’s Arrival

The Ravens gained an impact player when they traded for inside linebacker Roquan Smith this week. Not only does the two-time second-team All-Pro figure to make a huge impact on the defense, but his presence also will have an impact on the role of some of his new teammates.

The Baltimore Sun’s Jonas Shaffer looked at the winners and losers on defense with Smith’s arrival. He viewed the addition of Smith as a positive for fellow inside linebacker Patrick Queen, but not necessarily for first-round safety Kyle Hamilton.

Shaffer said that not only will Smith’s presence not cost Queen snaps, it should free Queen to do more of what he’s best at: shoot gaps as a run defender and harass the quarterback as a blitzer.

“While the Ravens’ blitz rate has fallen sharply this year, Smith’s dependable track record in coverage over the middle could free [Defensive Coordinator Mike] Macdonald to unleash more of Queen’s pass-rushing ability,” Shaffer wrote. “According to Pro Football Focus, Queen has 13 pressures and four sacks over just 61 pass-rush snaps this season, impressive numbers for an inside linebacker.

“Smith’s explosiveness as a blitzer (16 1/2 career sacks) and Queen’s steady improvements in zone coverage should make the Ravens’ defensive tendencies harder to discern. That, in turn, should make their top two inside linebackers more difficult to game-plan against. On any given passing down, either could blitz, drop into a shallow zone, carry a receiver into a deep-middle-third zone or shadow a running back as he releases into the flat.”

As for Hamilton, Shaffer noted that the 14th-overall pick has been used primarily on passing downs, and there could be fewer snaps for him going forward.

“Coaches have used the rookie as a box safety, lining him up over tight ends in the slot, blitzing him from the edge, and dropping him into shallow and deep zone coverages,” Shaffer wrote. “Now, though, the Ravens…