Arden Key-DE/OLB-LSU

Originally posted by Heroism:

Wow, that sounds exactly like Reuben lol.

Originally posted by Awake:

Originally posted by Heroism:
He has a private visit AND a workout with the 49ers. They already met with him at the combine. They're doing their due diligence.

One thing is clear: they're in the market for an edge rusher. Thank god.

Ya, but we don't' need another Reuben Foster. I'm glad their doing due diligence but, at what point do you say enough is enough.

If the 49ers had a good off the field security program, where they hire people to escort certain players and make sure they don't do anything tumultuous, then I would be all for it. But the whole Reuben Foster situation proved otherwise.

Originally posted by Heroism:

Does he expect to play in the NFL at 238 pounds? Why were this numbers at the combine and LSU pro day so bad? He should be putting up electric numbers at that weight. There are so many questions with this guy, on and off-field. No bueno.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
I would also pass. The Niners cannot afford to have another player with big time off the field issues.

As for the Niners off the field security, they could not have any contact with players during the off season. It is against the rules set in the NFL CBA. When Foster was with the team he was fine but he obviously isnt mature enough to deal with his issues on his own during the off season. It would be a real risk to trust Key when he is away from the team.

Originally posted by NYniner85:
So anyone got some cliff notes on his off field stuff?

We reached out to two NFL teams that spoke with Key to find out what happened — and we double-checked with a source in Baton Rouge. Key left the program to enter rehab, they said, for marijuana. The feeling we got was that the NFL wasn't too concerned about that, even though he was briefly suspended after one failed test upon returning to school.
The biggest concern, we hear, is that Key — who was not in regular contact with the school for a period of time during his absence — started listening to people outside the program for advice on how he should progress in football. Against the advice of LSU's team doctors, Key was compelled to have his shoulder operated on. The school's medical staff had looked at Key's shoulder, which bothered him for some time, and determined that surgery was not necessary.
Key said at the combine that the shoulder "doesn't give me any problems now" and that he's good to go. But the timing of it resulted in him missing the early part of the season — and the school was caught off guard by the whole thing at first.
An NFC scouting director said that raises a red flag.
"It's always concerning when you have [players] going out on their own for medical advice, second opinions, because you don't always know what people are telling them," the director said. "You're going to listen to some other doctor that's never seen you before because a mentor of yours recommended him? That's where we have concerns. It's not the weed or the weight or any of that; that stuff we can deal with.
"The problem is listening to some coach you've known forever or some family member getting in their ear and telling them that the [school] doesn't have their best interests. Look up at New England, that whole mess with Tom Brady and the doctors and that trainer [Alex Guerrero] recruiting guys away from the [Patriots medical staff] … teams worry about that. They want to know everything that's done to their players."
The LSU source confirmed the timeline and concern about outside influences. The source also added that Key was "completely, madly, wildly out of shape" upon returning — he first played against Mississippi State — but worked his way into form by the Florida game. LSU lost to Alabama later in the season but Key "played his ass off" in the game, the team source said.
Key has terrific talent, and yet his substance history, weight and poor play certainly don't make him a squeaky clean evaluation. Add that to the fact that a 238-pound Key reportedly ran a 4.85-second 40-yard dash Wednesday after skipping the event at the combine. "I know how much technique is involved in the 40, so I said, nah, I'm just going to wait until Pro Day," Key told the media in Indy five weeks ago.
Key had been training for the pro day with private pass-rush coach (and former Atlanta Falcon) Chuck Smith, whom he's known since high school.
The LSU source likes Key and said people in the program are rooting for him to be successful — but that he has some maturing he needs to do and that earning the trust of his NFL team will be crucial over the coming weeks.
"It's weird to say it this way, but Arden is a sweetheart," the source said. "Arden gets his ass into trouble because he's a people pleaser. … He's got to learn to listen to the people he works for [in the NFL]. If he keeps listening to the outside voices, it's going to be an issue for him. That's the issue. He's got to figure out what it is to be a grownup."
The AFC team we spoke with said they did not knock Key off their board for off-field concerns but have affected their draft grade on him.
"We tend to think about players who have as much going on as he does in [Round 4]. Talent-wise, should he go much higher? Yeah. But you just can't commit to a player you don't trust."
Told about the sweetheart comment from a member of the staff, the AFC scout said: "I believe that. And I'll sign off on a sweetheart [who has] gotten in trouble if I think he'll listen to us. That's where the concern is."
Key said at the combine that he's "coachable, a people's person, a loving caring guy" and that he's "got a good smile." He echoed his sentiments of last month on Wednesday to the media that he believes scouts are coming away with a better impression of him once he shares the details of his absence.
"A lot of scouts viewed me differently before meeting me," Key said. "And when they met me, I told them the truth — the full, honest truth — and took responsibility of those things. Now they look at me in a different eye."
But have the concerns over the decision to have the surgery and the outside influences been assuaged? That's likely the biggest question that will determine where this one-time top-10 talent will end end in the 2018 NFL draft. It's almost certain he won't be a first-round pick, but how far will he fall?
"Do you and I know that the Bengals are going to take Arden in the third round because they don't care about any of that stuff? Yeah." the team source asked (and answered) rhetorically. "And he's going to end up having a monster rookie year and then you fear he'll start to dip … just like Jeremy [Hill] did.
"If I had a million dollars, I would just bet that the Bengals draft him. He just has that feel about him."

Originally posted by Kolohe:

I hope they pass on him he kinda reminds me of Barkevious Mingo. I wouldn't spend the 9th pick on him but if he fell to the 2nd I'd think about it.

Originally posted by Awake:

Originally posted by NYniner85:

So anyone got some cliff notes on his off field stuff?

Posted by Phoneix

We reached out to two NFL teams that spoke with Key to find out what happened — and we double-checked with a source in Baton Rouge. Key left the program to enter rehab, they said, for marijuana. The feeling we got was that the NFL wasn't too concerned about that, even though he was briefly suspended after one failed test upon returning to school.
The biggest concern, we hear, is that Key — who was not in regular contact with the school for a period of time during his absence — started listening to people outside the program for advice on how he should progress in football. Against the advice of LSU's team doctors, Key was compelled to have his shoulder operated on. The school's medical staff had looked at Key's shoulder, which bothered him for some time, and determined that surgery was not necessary.
Key said at the combine that the shoulder "doesn't give me any problems now" and that he's good to go. But the timing of it resulted in him missing the early part of the season — and the school was caught off guard by the whole thing at first.
An NFC scouting director said that raises a red flag.
"It's always concerning when you have [players] going out on their own for medical advice, second opinions, because you don't always know what people are telling them," the director said. "You're going to listen to some other doctor that's never seen you before because a mentor of yours recommended him? That's where we have concerns. It's not the weed or the weight or any of that; that stuff we can deal with.
"The problem is listening to some coach you've known forever or some family member getting in their ear and telling them that the [school] doesn't have their best interests. Look up at New England, that whole mess with Tom Brady and the doctors and that trainer [Alex Guerrero] recruiting guys away from the [Patriots medical staff] … teams worry about that. They want to know everything that's done to their players."
The LSU source confirmed the timeline and concern about outside influences. The source also added that Key was "completely, madly, wildly out of shape" upon returning — he first played against Mississippi State — but worked his way into form by the Florida game. LSU lost to Alabama later in the season but Key "played his ass off" in the game, the team source said.
Key has terrific talent, and yet his substance history, weight and poor play certainly don't make him a squeaky clean evaluation. Add that to the fact that a 238-pound Key reportedly ran a 4.85-second 40-yard dash Wednesday after skipping the event at the combine. "I know how much technique is involved in the 40, so I said, nah, I'm just going to wait until Pro Day," Key told the media in Indy five weeks ago.
Key had been training for the pro day with private pass-rush coach (and former Atlanta Falcon) Chuck Smith, whom he's known since high school.
The LSU source likes Key and said people in the program are rooting for him to be successful — but that he has some maturing he needs to do and that earning the trust of his NFL team will be crucial over the coming weeks.
"It's weird to say it this way, but Arden is a sweetheart," the source said. "Arden gets his ass into trouble because he's a people pleaser. … He's got to learn to listen to the people he works for [in the NFL]. If he keeps listening to the outside voices, it's going to be an issue for him. That's the issue. He's got to figure out what it is to be a grownup."
The AFC team we spoke with said they did not knock Key off their board for off-field concerns but have affected their draft grade on him.
"We tend to think about players who have as much going on as he does in [Round 4]. Talent-wise, should he go much higher? Yeah. But you just can't commit to a player you don't trust."
Told about the sweetheart comment from a member of the staff, the AFC scout said: "I believe that. And I'll sign off on a sweetheart [who has] gotten in trouble if I think he'll listen to us. That's where the concern is."
Key said at the combine that he's "coachable, a people's person, a loving caring guy" and that he's "got a good smile." He echoed his sentiments of last month on Wednesday to the media that he believes scouts are coming away with a better impression of him once he shares the details of his absence.
"A lot of scouts viewed me differently before meeting me," Key said. "And when they met me, I told them the truth — the full, honest truth — and took responsibility of those things. Now they look at me in a different eye."
But have the concerns over the decision to have the surgery and the outside influences been assuaged? That's likely the biggest question that will determine where this one-time top-10 talent will end end in the 2018 NFL draft. It's almost certain he won't be a first-round pick, but how far will he fall?
"Do you and I know that the Bengals are going to take Arden in the third round because they don't care about any of that stuff? Yeah." the team source asked (and answered) rhetorically. "And he's going to end up having a monster rookie year and then you fear he'll start to dip … just like Jeremy [Hill] did.
"If I had a million dollars, I would just bet that the Bengals draft him. He just has that feel about him."