Most of the time, we think of a player’s improvement as a product of either technique or physical abilities. The one area that tends to get overlooked is a player’s mindset or emotional state.
Take Arden Key for example. The talent has always been there. From Day 1 of his rookie camp, his abilities were evident. He has all the bend, hand fighting and physical prowess you could want from a dominant defensive end.
He was drafted by the Raiders in the third round in 2018. At that time Mike Mayock was still a draft analyst for NFL Network and he remembers well the kind of player he scouted in Key.
“I go back to Arden at LSU when I was with NFL Network I was at his pro day,” said Mayock. “I knew all about the kid coming out of LSU, the talent and some of the trials and tribulations he went through, some of the weight gains and losses. At the end of the day he’s a talented young man.”
Despite all of his abilities, somehow when the season came around, it didn’t translate to the field of play. He would get pressures, but they weren’t resulting in sacks. And it frustrated Key. And his coaches.
He went into year two determined to seal the deal on those pressures and get to the quarterback. Then right when he seemed to be putting things together, he was lost for the season.
His rough rookie season and injury-shortened second season led to a good deal of criticism from the media. And the seemingly always confident Key let it get to him in ways that he probably shouldn’t have. He needed to take a step back and get his mind right.
“I was self-reflecting, trying to get mentally right especially after coming off the season-ending injury last year and had a pretty good solid two games before I hurt myself,” said Key Thursday from training camp.
“I’m in a good place mentally. I don’t take a lot of stuff too hard, I don’t take a lot of stuff personal. A lot of stuff in life isn’t personal. You gotta learn to roll with it and keep moving. Get your emotions pretty much out of a lot of these type things. Get the ego out. I learned to shut the ego up.”
In addition to his mental and emotional reboot, Key was once again in need to getting back where the team wants him physically. He said he feels a lot stronger and his weight is where it needs to be now. Whether it’s his mental or physical state, he looks as fast and furious on the edge as he did as a rookie when he was dominating Raiders tackles. The question is if this time will have a better result. His GM seems to think so.
“I think this offseason was different for him,” Mayock said of Key. “And even though we weren’t in the building, I sensed a different Arden Key. I think his commitment to the organization and even more importantly his commitment to get the talent that he has out of himself, I think those were both evident. And I think they’re showing up right now. I think Arden, like the rest of the defensive line, has bought into Rod Marinelli. I really like where Arden Key is right now and he’s doing it all with a club on his hand.”
As of Thursday’s practice that “club” (which was a cast) on Key’s right hand was gone. He shed the old cast much like he hopes to break the mold he was in the past couple of rough seasons for him. His arrival would be quite a bonus for this Raiders defensive line which is looking to take a big step forward this season.
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