Tampa Bay Buccaneers Draft Profile: Edge Rusher, Arden Key

As we near the end of our NFL draft profile series with the draft just a couple days away, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are always looking for improvement in the pass rushing position, and could pure pass rusher Arden Key from LSU provide that help?

As we all know by now last season the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the worst pass defense and total defense in the NFL, and finding quality defensive ends has been an issue for the Buccaneers since Simeon Rice and his average of thirteen sacks per season left.

Just how bad has it been since then? Well they haven’t had a 10 plus sack season since 2005, and narrowing it down to the last five seasons they have a total of 169 sacks (7th lowest total, average of 34.5/season) but just 63 (37%, average of 12.5/season) of those are from all of the defensive ends on the roster. Defensive end/pass rusher is always a need for a team with those kind of numbers attached to it, and some acquisitions were made this off season that may help but still always a need.

With the start of the NFL Draft just a couple of days away and the most likely fact that Bradley Chubb will not be there at seven the Buccaneers will still look to acquire some defensive end help, but most likely not in the first or maybe not even the second round depending on who they select in the first round.

Meaning that most likely it will be in rounds four through seven that a defensive end will be selected. One player who meets that criteria as an early fourth round option could be pure pass rushing edge rusher out of LSU in Arden Key, so let dive into him with my last Draft Profile and see if he is fit for the Buccaneers.

Arden Key’s College Career

Playing as a true freshman at LSU he played in all twelve games while starting nine of them he had 41 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and was named to the SEC All Freshman Team. As a sophomore he played in and started eleven games out of twelve and had his best season with 56 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks which is an LSU season record. As a junior he played in and started eight games of the teams thirteen games missing five for a leave of absence and shoulder surgery, and had just 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks.

Pros

His long arms (33.5” arms) and lanky torso with an amazing 82.5” wingspan helping him to bend around the blockers, and gives them fits while they attempt to block him.

His long arms and reach also allow his to push blockers out of the way allowing him to get to the quarterback or ball carrier.

He uses his long reach while being blocked to grab the running back as they try to get to the corner and is able to take them down or at least slow them down for the great LSU linebackers to clean up.

Show raw ability to rush from the outside as a pure pass rusher and the inside with his flexibility in his lanky body.

Cons

Has had some off the field concerns or potential red flags such as taking a four month leave of absence where he also ended up having should surgery, and was also reported within the last week that he went to rehab for marijuana use during that time.

Basically a pure pass rusher and is not very good against the run, meaning that he would most likely start out on passing downs and could be a liability against the run game.

With his size of 6’5” and 238 pounds at the combine and his long and lanky body he showed that he had a hard time getting off blocks from blocking tight ends, and was basically kept out of the play.

Seems very predictable when it came to his pass rusher moves allowing the blocker to predict what move he was going to do and get ahead of him while blocking.

Showed some disinterest when asked to drop back into coverage and struggled at it, and may struggle if drafted by a 3-4 team where he is asked to drop back into coverage.

Must Read: How important is the deep ball?

Why the Buccaneers Need Arden Key?

He is a pure pass rusher in the draft and the Buccaneers could always use pass rushers as they drafted Noah Spence as a pure pass rusher a few years back and as mentioned above finding good pass rushers has been their achilles heel for several seasons now.

Granted the Buccaneers have added to the defensive line this season as they try to improve from their NFL worst 22 sack season, and part of that improvement is not just via free agency but also will be needed through the draft.

As running back, corner back/secondary, and pass rusher are designated as team needs for the Buccaneers even after the trading for Jason Pierre-Paul it may not be as big of a need but it is still a need, and any type of pure pass rusher could be very useful for this team potentially even one with some baggage.

Will the Buccaneers Draft Arden Key?

With currently no third round pick and more priority positions I am going to say that he will not be drafted with their first two picks, and due to some red flags I do not think that he will be selected in the fourth round either by the Buccaneers.

Now with his recent revelation that he went to rehab at the beginning of last season for marijuana issues and his reports of some bad interviews at the combine, I think that maybe if he were still there in the fifth, sixth, or seventh rounds that he may be an option for the Buccaneers.

I think that a needy pass rusher team will likely grab him before then so I am going to say that only if he is available in the fifth round and is higher on their board than any other prospects that he will be selected by the Buccaneers, but the likelihood of all that happening is slim to none so I am going to say that he will not be drafted by the Buccaneers.

Next: Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Open letter to fans about draft day

With one more Draft Profile left in our series check back during and after the draft and read the draft profiles of the players that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select/selected in the NFL Draft, and be sure and enjoy the festivities where ever you are at your Draft Party.

There you have it my last Pewter Plank Draft profile, and now it’s your turn to tell me your thoughts on edge rusher Arden Key, and his chance of being selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week in the draft. Go to the comments section or tweet me directly @ND1Bucsfan and continue to read and enjoy all of The Pewter Plank draft profiles.

Feel free to tell me who you think the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will draft in the NFL Draft.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Draft Profile: Edge Rusher, Arden Key

By Jerry Stalheim | Apr 24, 2018