After an underwhelming junior season, edge rusher Arden Key is still confident in his draft stock as the 2018 NFL Draft inches closer and closer.
At LSU Pro Day, Key posted a 4.85 40-yard dash and a 115 inch broad jump. A month ago at the NFL Combine, Key did not run the 40-yard dash, but posted 117 inch broad jump, a 31 inch vertical and a 4.25 20-yard shuttle.
Key’s personal goal for the 40-yard dash was in the 4.6-4.7 range, and despite not reaching that goal he isn’t too pressured by it.
“It’s about the 10-yard split,” Key said. “The 40, it’s not a football realistic thing. I’m not running 40 yards down the field in a straight line.”
Despite dropping from a potential top-10 pick to a third-rounder since last season, Key has been working to get himself back to what he calls “sophomore Arden Key.”
“I felt great [at Pro Day],” Key said. “I felt like I was in shape. I showed them speed, flexibility, power. I was flipping the hips, athletic. I showed them the sophomore Arden Key.”
As a sophomore at LSU, Key set the school record for single-season sacks with 12 and led the team with 14.5 tackles for loss. He also totaled 56 tackles, 24 of them individual.
After taking a leave of absence from the team following the 2016 season that lasted through the summer, Key could not return to the same form in his junior season. In the 2017 season, Key played in only eight games, totaling 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, eight quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.
Key’s struggles could be attributed to a number of things, including the shoulder surgery he underwent during his leave and the fluctuation of his weight once he returned.
After surgery, Key’s weight was as high as 280 pounds and dropping to 250 pounds by the end of the season. Key weighed in at 238 pounds at the NFL Combine.
Key doesn’t think he was ever up to 100 percent after his return to the field in 2017. Even in his best game with eight tackles and half a sack in LSU’s 24-10 loss to Alabama, Key believes he only played at about 80 percent of what he was capable of doing.
Key is still tight lipped to the media about why he took his leave of absence from the team, but he assures that it is not something NFL teams are worried about. He has disclosed his reasonings to all NFL teams that have shown interest in him.
“A lot of the scouts viewed me differently before meeting me,” Key said. “When I met them and told them the truth, the full, honest truth, and I took full responsibility of those things, now they look at me in a different eye.”
Multiple teams have showed interest and Key is looking to be a reliable pass rusher for whatever team picks him up and “shame on” those teams that pass over him, he said. 
Key is looking to assert himself as an elite, versatile player that can add valuable talent to any NFL team.
“The NFL is a start over for everybody,” Key said. “College is college and the NFL is different. Everybody is good. Everybody is fast and strong and everything is new. I’m going to go in with a clear head and ready to work.”