Had he entered the draft in 2017, Arden Key would have easily been a first round pick – maybe even top 10.
After watching his stock take a dive (for on and of the field problems) in 2018, Key was more or less a forgotten man in this year’s draft and the Raiders even took some some heat for drafting him in the third round.
Nevertheless, Bruce Irvin offered high praise for Key last week and issued a reminder that when he was coming out of college, he made mistakes as well.
“I see [Arden] every day. He sit right next to me,” Irvin told Adam Schefter. “He’s keeping Khalil’s seat warm while Khalil ain’t there.”
“From what I’ve seen so far he’s a young kid, you know, everybody makes mistakes. I’m a walking testament of that. He’s coming in there, he’s ready, he’s willing to work, he’s asking questions, he follows me everywhere.”
As for Key’s potential, Irvin believes the rookie could be one of the league’s special edge rushers.
“I see really a lot of on-the-field Aldon Smith in him,” Irvin said. “And that’s big because Aldon could have been one of the greats ever to play the game. Arden has all the same attributes. He’s just as long, can bend just as good. We’re going to keep his head on straight because we need him.”
The hope, of course, is that years from now the only Smith/Key comparison will be their production on the field – and nothing of what they got into off it.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Can’t wait to see him play. I have a feeling he’ll be special for the Raiders. Go Raiders!!
Good thing for Key is he’s got arguably the league’s best pash rushing end tandem to learn from about being a player in the league both on and off the field. Our pass rush has the potential to be special once Mack returns to the fold and God willing Hurst’s health doesn’t betray him. Guenther knows how to best utilize a player’s talent in a variety of schemes, and it’ll show come game day.
He’s Going to be a Fucking Huge Beast off the Edge and Up the Middle Pressure?
😎✌🖤🏈🇺🇸