ALAMEDA, Calif. — Arden Key has a specific goal in mind for his rookie year, besides racking up sacks and stats for the Oakland Raiders. It has more to do with separating perception from his reality.
“That I’m not the guy that the media portrays me to be,” Key said Friday night after the Raiders selected the former LSU defensive end in the third round of the draft, 87th overall.
“Football is not the question. Everybody knows, talent-wise, if we’re just talking talent, top-five pick, automatic.”
•Kiper: Day 2 winners, questions, reaches » •Kiper: Best available prospects for Day 3 » • Nation: Breaking down every pick, by team » • Trade tracker: Every move, sorted by team » • Barnwell: Who aced trade value in Round 1 » • New digits: First-round picks get numbers » •Kiper: Round 1 winners, questions » •McShay: Round 1 draft awards » • Nation: Pros, cons for first 32 picks » • Clay’s fantasy reax: Rounds 2-3 | 1
Key, though, fell into the third round and into the Raiders’ lap because of off-the-field issues that clouded his past year. In the spring of 2017 he checked himself into rehab for marijuana, and then appeared in just eight games last fall because of injuries. This after he set the LSU single-season sacks record with 12 in 2016. Key had 26 1/2 sacks during three seasons as a Tiger.
Raiders coach Jon Gruden sees Key as a third pass-rusher, along with Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin.
“Well, he’s not a finished product,” Gruden said of Key. “He’s made some mistakes. He’s had some difficult times in his young life, and I know where he’s been for the last several months, and I know what he’s been through in his career. We’ve done a lot of research on him and he has a lot to prove … but at the end of the third round, we feel like it’s a gamble worth taking and this young man has some qualities that are rare.
“We do think he’s a very good kid … but this is a young person that needs some help right now, and we’re going to help him.”
Key said he acknowledged his mistakes to teams in pre-draft interviews and felt his honesty helped him. Even if, as he said, he went later than his talent should have had him go in the draft.
“I know I’m not a third-round pick; I’m a first-round talent, top five,” he said. “I went through some situations that caused me to be a third-round pick. I’ve learned from those things and this is the consequence of me going through what I went through. I’m a better person now than I was prior to it. I’m just happy to be at the right place.
“I feel the Oakland Raiders is the right place for me. That was the best visit I went on out of all eight of my visits. Being on the other side of Khalil Mack, learning things from him and that sort, him taking me under his wing [would be helpful], if he wants to do that.”
Hey, when you spend four months previewing something, trot out eleventy-billion mock drafts and work everybody into a froth trying to figure out how 19- and 20-year-olds project as pro athletes, the least you can hope is that the draft is interesting.
So far, so good.
Thursday’s first round of the NFL draft was loaded with twists and surprises, from the beginning to the end. Lots to unpack here, and it’s impossible to hit it all right away in the aftermath. But we can try.
Here’s a quick effort to decode some of what we learned in the first round of this year’s NFL draft:
The quarterbacks all went to places that make sense for them
Think about it. Baker Mayfield is a lifelong underdog, two-time walk-on with thick skin who doesn’t care what you think about him. A No. 1 overall pick with a chip on his shoulder. Cleveland all the way. Sam Darnold was a superstar in a big market who’ll be asked to do that again with the New York Jets. Josh Allen has the size and the arm to muscle his way through the elements in Buffalo (a small market where Thursday’s Twitter controversy may not get as much exposure as in a larger one). Josh Rosen will play in ideal conditions in Arizona, with a superstar running back who can ease the pressure on him early. And Lamar Jackson can sit for a year or two behind veteran Joe Flacco in Baltimore (more on that in a second).
None of these guys has to play right away, but all five are in places where they can thrive eventually.
Five quarterbacks were taken in the first round for the first time since 1983. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Some veteran QBs are on notice — even in places where they just arrived
The obvious one is Flacco, who technically has four years left on his contract but has no more guaranteed money coming and can easily be cut after 2018. It’s hard to know how much time Jackson will need to develop as an NFL quarterback, but his unique natural ability immediately makes him a better backup QB than the Ravens have had since Tyrod Taylor left, and he sets up as the potential successor to Flacco.
In Arizona, there’ll be pressure to play Rosen early, especially if Sam Bradford continues to have injury issues. In New York, Josh McCown did enough last year to deserve starting the entire 2018 season if he’s healthy, but Darnold looms as the 2019 starter. Taylor always looked like a placeholder in Cleveland, but obviously there’ll be pressure on the Browns’ coaching staff to play Mayfield right away — especially if they’re losing games. And all that stands in Allen’s way in Buffalo is the unproven tandem of AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman. Allen may need time to develop, but again, if the Bills are losing, McCarron will be on the hot seat almost before he gets a chance to show what he can do.
•Kiper: Kiper’s Round 1 winners, questions » •Kiper: Best available prospects on Day 2 » • Nation: Pros, cons for every pick » • Browns take Baker Mayfield with top pick » • Jets select Sam Darnold at No. 3 » • Bills trade up to 10 for Josh Allen » • Cardinals move up to take Josh Rosen » • Clay: Round 1 fantasy reaction »
Last year, three wideouts went in the top nine picks. The problem is, all three of them — the Chargers’ Mike Williams, the Titans’ Corey Davis and the Bengals’ John Ross — had injury issues and rough rookie years.
Fast-forward to Thursday night, and the first wide receiver taken was pick No. 24 — Maryland’s D.J. Moore to the Carolina Panthers. Before that happened, the Steelers traded fourth-year receiver Martavis Bryant to the Raiders for a third-round pick and the Patriots took Georgia guard Isaiah Wynn with the pick (No. 23 overall) they got from the Rams in exchange for wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
It’s clear teams this year were looking for wide receiver solutions in places other than the draft, and the only wide receiver other than Moore who went in this year’s first round was Alabama’s Calvin Ridley, who fell into the laps of the stunned Atlanta Falcons at No. 26. Overall, 11 offensive skill position players went in the first round, and five were the quarterbacks. The others were the aforementioned wide receivers, one tight end (Hayden Hurst, Ravens, No. 25) and three running backs (Saquon Barkley, Giants, No. 2; Rashaad Penny, Seahawks, No. 27; Sony Michel, Patriots, No. 31).
Gruden gonna Gruden
A lot of mock drafts had the Oakland Raiders taking a defensive player, but I heard my friend Mark Dominik say on the radio Thursday that the offensive-minded Gruden wouldn’t be able to help himself. Sure enough, the Raiders traded back and took a project offensive tackle in UCLA’s Kolton Miller, and then traded the pick they got in that deal (No. 79 overall, from Arizona) to the Steelers for Bryant. Have to think the Raiders go defense Friday night, but I guess we can’t be sure.
A surprising number of teams got their top-choice player
The Browns, obviously, since they got to pick first. But in addition to Mayfield, Cleveland took the first defensive player in the draft. And to many people’s surprise, it was Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward instead of NC State defensive end Bradley Chubb. The Giants could have traded down from No. 2, but clearly Barkley was the player of their dreams. The Jets traded up from No. 6 to No. 3 because they liked three quarterbacks but still got the top one on their board in Darnold, according to a source close to the situation. The Broncos were set to deal the No. 5 pick to Buffalo (who was coming up for Allen, their top choice) until Chubb fell to them and they decided they couldn’t pass up the chance to pair Chubb and Von Miller on the edges. The Colts moved down from No. 3 to No. 6 figuring they’d get either Chubb, Barkley or Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson, and sure enough they came out with Nelson, who can help them keep quarterback Andrew Luck upright. Heck, the Dolphins got their dream pick at No. 11 in Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Saints obviously were deeply in love with UT-San Antonio defensive end Marcus Davenport, for whom they dealt a 2019 first-round pick. And the Chargers could never have imagined Florida State defensive back Derwin James falling to them at No. 17.
There were plenty of trades, but the reason there weren’t more in the top half of the draft was because the board was falling the way many of these teams were hoping it would.
Tom Brady’s plan to play forever survived the night
Lots of chatter about the Patriots maybe taking Lamar Jackson if he fell to them. He did. Twice. And they didn’t take him. The Patriots may still get a quarterback in this draft, and it could be someone like Mason Rudolph or Luke Falk on Friday night. But neither would present any kind of immediate threat to the soon-to-be 41-year-old Brady. The search for the next Jimmy Garoppolo remains in progress.
The Giants put off addressing their QB succession plan to take RB Saquon Barkley at No. 2 overall. Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports
There’s lots of potential movement at the top of Round 2
The Browns have the first and third picks of Friday night, thanks to last year’s Deshaun Watson trade with the Texans. The Colts have the fourth and fifth picks of Friday night, thanks to last month’s trade with the Jets. Plenty of good players are still there for the Browns, who could use someone like Boston College edge rusher Harold Landry or Stanford safety Justin Reid, among others. Plenty of strong options there for the Colts, who could use Landry or any of the top remaining offensive linemen — Iowa’s James Daniels, UTEP’s Will Hernandez, Texas’ Connor Williams. But having multiple picks enables Cleveland and Indianapolis to listen to offers from teams looking to move up to take the guy they think should have been a first-rounder but wasn’t. The draft resumes at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield or Lamar Jackson? It’s not easy. History tells us evaluating quarterbacks is a crapshoot.
Which team is under pressure? Who could trade up? We’re counting down the hours until the draft, and our experts are here to catch you up.
2 Related
The former Wyoming quarterback acknowledged the tweets to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith late Wednesday night and apologized, saying he was young and dumb.
The tweets no longer appear on Allen’s account. However, they contained racial slurs and other offensive language, according to reporting by Yahoo! Sports.
The tweets cited by Yahoo! Sports were sent in 2012 and 2013, when Allen was in high school.
Allen is ranked as the top quarterback in the draft, according to ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., and is projected by many to be selected by the Cleveland Browns with the first overall pick.
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Jon Gruden yelled out instructions, called out plays and ran an NFL practice for the first time since leaving coaching nearly a decade ago in Tampa Bay.
This was the day Gruden had been waiting for ever since he was hired for a second stint as Oakland Raiders coach.
The Raiders opened their first voluntary minicamp under Gruden on Tuesday with optimism that a change in coach can alter the fortunes of a team coming off a down season.
Jon Gruden talks with QB Derek Carr at the team’s first voluntary minicamp. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
“The practice field has always been a laboratory for a coach,” Gruden said. “That’s where we earn our pay. We have to develop this team. We have to learn a lot about them quickly. We have a lot of things to teach, a lot of things to improve. It was fun to be out there. I don’t want to be too deep or philosophical or I might start crying.”
While only the first 30 minutes of practice were open to the media, there was a different vibe than in previous years with Gruden’s loud voice replacing music as the soundtrack on the field.
There were even large video boards on the field, allowing players to watch replays of practice plays immediately after they happened to make corrections more quickly. Gruden said that was something he first saw watching Jim Harbaugh’s practices at Michigan and adopted it himself.
Gruden viewed this minicamp as an examination to see how well the players have learned the plays and system in meeting rooms the past two weeks. Gruden said he tried to throw a few extra wrinkles at quarterback Derek Carr and was pleased with how he responded.
“He threw everything at me,” Carr said. “He tried to get me to see if I was listening to him in the meetings. We had a lot of fun doing that. It’s always fun to accept his challenge and hopefully do good at it and look at him or wink at him or something like that. We have fun together because we both have the same goal of putting the ship in the water and hitting this thing running.”
Gruden takes over a team that fell from 12 wins in 2016 to just six last season, leading to the firing of coach Jack Del Rio and a second stint for Gruden in Oakland. The Raiders’ facility looks far different than it did during Gruden’s first tenure from 1998 to 2001 thanks to a workout center that Del Rio initiated and new fields.
The team needs plenty of work after last year’s disappointment.
The Raiders had major drops in scoring (26 to 18.8), yards per game (373.3 to 324.1) and committed twice as many turnovers (14 to 28) this past season as Carr took a major step back in his development while dealing with a back injury for part of the season.
But Gruden sees great potential for Carr to get back to the level he reached in 2016, when his play helped earn him a $125 million, five-year extension in the offseason.
“I got really excited out there today,” Gruden said. “You can have a really creative imagination with that guy at the quarterback position. He can make every throw. It comes out of his hand fast and accurate. He’s mobile and sharp. He’s a great leader.”
The defense became the first in NFL history to fail to record an interception in the first 10 games of the season and generated only 14 takeaways all season compared to 30 in 2016.
But there are also some key pieces missing, most notably 2016 AP Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack, who is not participating in the offseason program while seeking a long-term contract before he can become a free agent next offseason.
Starting left tackle Donald Penn is still recovering from foot surgery and last year’s top two draft picks, cornerback Gareon Conley (shin) and safety Obi Melifonwu (hip), aren’t taking part in team drills.
Kiper: Day 2 winners, questions, reaches »
