Remember 2018? It can feel like a long time ago in NFL years, but it wasn’t that long ago really. Jon Gruden had just returned as head coach and set about preparing for his first draft as an NFL head coach in ten years.
Come camp, there was no player in that Raiders draft class who was showing up more than third round pick Arden Key. Every single day he was blowing by Raiders tackles. Add the fact that he had an attitude as well as being a pretty funny guy, and he was an easy media darling.
I promise you, those of us who watched him in camp weren’t all getting together for some coordinated effort to mislead anyone.
The fans were eating up the hype about the former LSU edge rusher who many were saying should have been taken at least a round higher if not for some supposed character red flags. Add the red flags about Maurice Hurst that had him drop to the 5th round and it looked like the Raiders had a couple steals on their hands.
Two seasons later, and everyone is left to wonder what all the hype was about.
His rookie season the story was about a series of near misses. He had just one actual sack and joked about how if he’d just been better about finishing he’d have like eight or nine.
Then last season, he had two sacks before being lost to injury in week nine. He also saw his snaps drop to below 40%, which was closer to what the Raiders wanted from him all along as a situational pass rusher.
It would be rookie Maxx Crosby who would captivate everyone last season. The fourth round pick would be in the Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation and by the second half was an every down player. Meanwhile fellow rookie fourth overall pick Clelin Ferrell was seen more as a work in progress.
Come free agency, the Raiders added edge rusher Carl Nassib, giving the team a three-man rotation at edge rusher. And even with Crosby, Ferrell, and Nassib in house, you still see constant buzz surrounding every edge rusher who is out there (Jadeveon Clowney) or could be available via trade (Yannick Ngakoue).
No one even brings up Key anymore. Not the media, not the fans.
In case you’re wondering, he’s wearing a cast on his right hand at the moment. In Tuesday’s practice I actually mentioned him as making a play in which he came down the line to stuff a run for no gain. It was a good play, but not really his expected role.
Going into his third year, he absolutely must get to the quarterback. The high hopes for him as a rookie are fading into the rear view fast. The team already cut PJ Hall who they took in round two and Brandon Parker, who was taken ahead of Key in the third round looks like he may not be long for this team either. The time is now to show he can make an impact or the next piece will be a ‘where are they now?’