How Arden Key Has Set a Tone in His First Jaguars Training Camp
If a football team was a body, then the defensive line would be its heart.
That is what Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Arden Key believes. And that is why Key has quickly become one of the primary voices of the unit that is hoped to drive the Jaguars in 2022. One of its heartbeats.
"I mean, Defense wins championships. I mean, you look at every winning Super Bowl team, the D-line took over," Key told Jaguar Report earlier this month at Jaguars training camp.
"So the D line is the heartbeat of the defense and the O-line is the heartbeat of the offense. So we take that responsibility on our shoulder and we come out here and work every day."
The Jaguars signed Key to a one-year deal on March 30, adding Key to a defensive front that already included Josh Allen, Roy Robertson-Harris, Foley Fatukasi, Dawuane Smoot, and DaVon Hamilton. Flash forward a month later and No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker was annointed the final piece of a unit the Jaguars are banking on being a strength in 2022.
“He’s one of those guys we brought in as a free agent to really help bolster our third down pass rush, maybe second down pass rush, getting after the quarterback, we saw that the other night against the Raiders, and that’s what he can bring," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said in camp after Key recorded a pair of sacks in the Hall of Fame game.
Through even the first few days of camp, it was clear Key would play an important role with the defensive line. But throughout the course of camp, Key has taken his pivotal on-field role and established himself as one of the voices of the entire defense; not just the defensive line.
"It’s huge that he can play multiple spots on the line and the leadership part of it. He's such a smart player," Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell said.
"He does it a different way than other people do it. And he's able to show other guys how to get something accomplished the way he would do it. It's big for us to have a veteran like that in the room. And he's doing a phenomenal job.”
It has been Key's voice that has frequently rang loudest during team drills, pushing the defense to continue. It has been Key who has been the veteran player to pull the entire defense together during hot, grueling camp practices and impassion them to play to a higher standard.
"He’s a passionate player. He’s been on a team in his past that has been successful and seen how it’s done, and he wants to bring that type of leadership here to this football team," Pederson said. "I love it when guys like that take the reins in a leadership role in that way. He’s doing it by example on the field and doing it by word. If he continues that path, he’ll be fine, and we’ll be a better defensive line because of it.”
Key, who was coached by Jaguars defensive line coach Brentson Buckner in 2019, had a career resurgence with the 49ers last season. In 17 regular-season games in 2021, Key set career-highs in sacks (6.5), tackles for loss (5), quarterback hits (17), and pressures (36).
Originally a third-round selection (No. 87) by the Raiders in the 2018 NFL Draft, Key has appeared in 54 games in his career before this year, starting 10. During that time he has recorded 9.5 sacks, 43 quarterback hits, 13 tackles for loss, and 104 pressures.
Now, Key is set to be one of the critical rotational pieces for a front-seven the Jaguars are expecting to help lead the team. He may not start many games, but he will play early and often. He has frequently lined up inside in the Jaguars' pass-rush packages thanks to his ability to beat guards off the ball and run stunts, while he has also shown versatility as an edge defender on running downs.
Key is a young player in many ways but still an experienced voice. For young pass-rushers like Travon Walker and K'Lavon Chaisson, Key's teachings both during and after practice have been integral.
"This is a talented group, Everybody all around the board, everybody talented. We got some young guys to bring along, we got some vets; we got a lot of vets actually," Key said. "So we got knowledge to pass to bring up the rookies, and then us around as vets we got knowledge to pass around each other and make each other better."
After a career year with the 49ers, Key had a number of teams interested in him as a free agent. He took visits with the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens -- two of the NFL's most successful franchises -- and the Detroit Lions, a trendy team due to the culture change speared on by head coach Dan Campbell.
But Key chose the Jaguars. He chose Jacksonville, practicing in the heat that only LSU can remind him of. He chose a rebuilding defense and team that is fresh off a 3-14 season.
But why the Jaguars?
"The coaching staff. The culture," Key said. "I wanted to be a part to change that cultue, change the Jacksonville culture."
Key says the Jaguars have more talent on their roster than many know. And at this point, the Jaguars still have something to prove after several years of losing.
"And a lot of people still don't see it, it's a lot of people around the league still don't see it yet. We don't have to respect, which we don't deserve the respect based off last year," Key said. "So we're going to wake a lot of people up this year."
"I mean this team has talent, the roster is built up, we got the coaching staff, we got the owner that wants us to win that will give all resources to allow us to win, so that is why I came here."
Key is ready for the Jaguars to make their statement, because he has already made his. He is going to be a critical piece to what the Jaguars do on defense in 2022, something the last month has made abundantly clear.
