Edge rusher Arden Key brings leadership, experience to improved Jaguars defense
Arden Key came to the Jaguars late in the free agency period with a reputation as a versatile edge rusher and a veteran who could provide even more leadership along with players such as Josh Allen, Shaq Griffin, Foyesade Oluokun and Dawuane Smoot.
He's fitting like a glove into defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell's scheme and he's showing that leadership — such as after Sunday's rugged, physical practice when the defense overall played well, but Key felt the need to remind his teammates that there are always more plays to be made.
"You've got to be more physical and pay more attention to detail," said the 6-foot-5, 240-po Key, who had two sacks in the Jaguars' 27-11 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders last Thursday in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.
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When reminded that it was the most physical practice of training camp, Key still wasn't happy.
"We got some runs let out on us," he said. "There were some technique issues. It was physical, yes, but we have to be physical and do our jobs at the same time. And when I see something that I think needs work, I'm going to speak on it and voice it, no matter who likes it or doesn't like it."
Key was a star at LSU
Key was a two-time All-SEC end with LSU and set the school record for sacks in one season with 12 in 2016. An injury limited him to eight games and four sacks in 2017 but he came out for the NFL Draft anyway and was grabbed in the third round by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Key had only three sacks in three seasons for the Raiders and was waived on April 15, 2021 — oddly, the same day the Raiders waived current Jaguars backup quarterback Kyle Sloter.
However, Key found a home with San Francisco last season and more than doubled his career sacks with 6.5. He visited several teams during the free-agency period and signed a one-year contract with the Jags on March 30 for $4 million, according to Spotrac.com, with a $1.5 million signing bonus and a $500,000 roster bonus.
Sacks take teamwork
Key's two sacks were works of art when it came to teamwork and were an indication of how disruptive coordinator Mike Caldwell's defense can be when the Jaguars are full strength — especially with outside linebacker Josh Allen back in the mix.
On the first sack, of Jarrett Stidham in the first quarter (and the play after Travon Walker got the first of five sacks the Jaguars would get on the night), Key lined up at left end inside of Walker. K'Lavon Chaisson was at left outside linebacker.
At the snap, Key engaged Raiders left guard John Simpson, who then committed the fundamental sin of leaving one man to block another — going after Walker.
Key then beat left tackle Brandon Parker, who had been victimized the play before by Walker, and got to Stidham. Chaisson, scarcely bothered by a chip from tight end Foster Moreau, beat right tackle Alex Leatherwood to clean up after Stidham was first hit by Key.
In the second quarter, Key was a stand-up end in the Jaguars blitz formation, inside Jamir Jones. He and Jones ran a stunt, with Key slipping around to the right. In the meantime, Chaisson and Dawuane Smoot were running a similar stunt from the left. Tackle Jermain Eluemunor had his hands full with Smoot and Chaisson got past guard Lester Cotton and flushed Nick Mullen right into Key's waiting arms.
"There's no guy in the NFL who can get a sack by himself," Key said. "It takes the whole rush group for that one person to get the sack. We all have to rush together for that one guy, or two guys to get the sacks."
The fact that Key can be effective with his hand on the ground as one of the Jaguars' "big" defensive ends or rush the passer from a standing position is what will make him a valuable addition to the defense.
"It’s huge that he can play multiple spots on the line," Caldwell said. "And the leadership part of it. He's such a smart player. 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.”
Jags sign Colbun, cut Cottrell
Nathan Cottrell, a third-year running back who scored the Jaguars' only touchdown in the preseason game against the Raiders, was waived/injured on Sunday and replaced by former Wake Forest running back Matt Colburn (5-11, 200).
Colburn has played in the XFL, CFL and in the spring with the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL. He played only four games but ran for 457 yards and scored eight touchdowns.
Colburn is sixth in Wake Forest history with 2,628 yards.
Cottrell, a Georgia Tech product, caught four passes for 35 yards, with the touchdown coming on a 5-yard pass from Kyle Sloter. He also ran three times for 13 yards but had an injury late in the game.
He had one carry for 3 yards last season and three special-teams tackles.
Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Versatile player, strong leader: Arden Key is coming as advertised for Jaguars
