2018 NFL Draft: Arden Key Finally Reveals His Off-Field Troubles
By Erik Lambert
At the start of 2017, everyone expected LSU pass rusher Arden Key to become a top 10 pick going into the 2018 NFL draft. Now he may not crack the top 32.
What in the world happened? He’s still one of the most physically imposing pass rush specialists in the class. He’s got size, length, speed, quickness, and strength. In truth, there are two primary issues at hand. The first is he simply didn’t play well in 2017. Coming off 11 sacks the year before, he was expected to dominate and instead he managed just four sacks in eight games. This leads directly to another problem that people aren’t sure about.
Rumors have persisted that Key had some off-the-field issues early last year that forced him to miss time. No longer attending LSU, the young defender seems to have finally come clean on what happened. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network revealed that Key battled substance abuse problems during his college career and they got so bad by the start of 2017 he was forced to enter rehab and get clean.
LSU edge Arden Key has told NFL teams he went to rehab last year for a marijuana problem. Was a beast in 2016, couldn’t train last year ... in a thin edge class, don’t be surprised if he still goes Round 2. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/HWIKeZzn9f
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 20, 2018
Marijuana and rehab would explain Key’s problems in 2017
One of the primary complaints about Key going into last season was how when he finally did see the field, it was clear he’d gained a substantial amount of weight. Some had it that he’d gone up to as much as 270 lbs. That’s 32 lbs heavier than his listed 2016 weight of 238 when he notched 11 sacks. Key explained that the drug issues and not being able to put in the work was a primary reason he couldn’t stay in proper shape.
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Reports from the NFL combine in February indicated he’d lost most of that weight so it’s no longer an issue. What teams now need to figure out is whether he’s truly kicked his substance problems. They have good memories of what happened in Dallas with Randy Gregory, who is only now trying to get back into the league. It stands to reason somebody will take the risk, but not in the 1st round. The good news is Key got himself help before things fell apart as they did for Gregory.
This bodes well that he’s got a grasp on what he must do to mature.