After a subpar rookie season, Arden Key is already turning heads in his second season with the Raiders. Oakland is trying to transition him from a full-time defensive end into a part-time pass-rusher. While his role is smaller, it’s not any less important. Key is going to be expected to produce big sack numbers now that he doesn’t have to worry about stopping the run.
How is that transition going for the former third-round pick from LSU? From everything we have seen so far, it couldn’t be going better. In a recent piece by Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report, Key was named one of the biggest winners of the week after recording a beautiful sack in the second quarter. Here is a small excerpt from
So, Key securing a sack in the first preseason contest against the Rams is no small feat. Key’s second-year improvement opposite Ferrell is, well, key to the Raiders’ defensive growth. Josh Mauro projects as the starting base end, but he’s a much better run defender than pass-rusher. Key will be used in sub-packages as a primary edge-rusher. One sack might not seem like a lot, but the moment means everything to the Raiders.
Sobleski nails this evaluation of Key as the team is banking on him becoming a threat as a pass-rushing specialist. Saturday’s performance against the Rams gave up us a small preview of what may still be to come for Key and the Raiders.
Oakland needs Key to continue to produce on passing downs,, and so far, he’s doing exactly what they were hoping he would do; bring down the quarterback. We shall see if this trend can continue throughout the rest of the preseason and into the regular season.
