It’s a big year in Arden Key’s professional football career, and it appears he’s going to unusual lengths to ensure success.
The Raiders are a team looking for pass rushers, and coach Jon Gruden drafted Key in 2018 to perform that essential task. Key has under-performed in that role thus far, notching just three sacks in 23 career games.
But that’s okay. Key has a plan. According to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, Key used a Chucky doll from the horror movie “Child’s Play” to remind him of who was waiting for him at the Raiders’ new facility.
If you haven’t heard, Gruden earned the nickname, “Chucky” due to his resemblance to the knife-wielding, fictional character, especially when Gruden loses his temper.
At home, Key hung up a Chucky doll. It was a reminder to get on coach Jon Gruden’s nerves once training camp began.
“Because if I can get under his skin then, [shoot], Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Cam Newton and those guys don’t have a chance,” Key said. “If I get under Jon Gruden’s skin and I see that he turns red every day? Oh, I’m winning. I’m not looking at no Tom Brady or no Drew Brees right now. My main eyes are on Jon Gruden.”
It appears that Key is trying to get his mental edge back. He dropped to the third round of the draft due to off-field concerns, and he perhaps dialed his temperament back too much.
He figures to have a chance to redeem himself in Las Vegas, but he’d do well to make an impression early and often as the Raiders prepare for the upcoming campaign, with his fellow member of the 2018 draft class, defensive tackle P.J. Hall, having been jettisoned for a seventh-round draft pick on Monday.
But as long as he’s a Raider, Key intends to be a disruptor, and he may as well start on the practice field by bringing Gruden’s inner “Chucky” to the forefront.