As he squares off against first-round draft pick Kolton Miller almost daily in training camp
Giants Kareem Martin Jersey , Oakland Raiders rookie defensive end Arden Key rarely uses the same move twice.
On one play, Key takes a jab-step inside then spins around to Miller's outside shoulder and speeds past the big left tackle. A few moments later, Key
bull-rushes his way between Miller and another offensive lineman with little
resistance.
It's not an indictment of Miller so much as it is a credit to Key, the Raiders' third-round draft pick who has been one of the early stars in training
camp.
"We love Key," Oakland coach Jon Gruden said Monday. "We've liked Key ever since the draft process. We felt lucky to get him where we got him. There's some
things this kid can do that are very special. Hopefully, we get full strength
someday at the defensive end position and we can show our true colors."
Gruden was referring to defensive end Khalil Mack, who is entering the final year of his contract and is holding out for a new deal.
Mack, the 2016 defensive player of the year, has been the Raiders' best pass-rusher for the past four seasons. In hopes of giving him some help up
front, the team used three of it first six draft picks to acquire Key along with
defensive tackles P.J. Hall (second round) and Maurice Hurst (fifth round).
Oakland also moved Bruce Irvin from outside linebacker to right defensive end, the same position as Key. The two men formed a close bond, with Irvin
serving as a mentor to Key.
Irvin compares Key to Aldon Smith, the talented but troubled former Raiders linebacker who had 33 ? sacks in his first two NFL seasons before off-field
issues forced him out of the league.
Like Smith, Key wears jersey No. 99.
"He's a really natural rusher
Authentic Walter Payton Jersey ," Irvin said. "He reminds me a lot of the old 99 that was here. If he keeps his head on straight, which he will, he's going to be
a hell of a player and a hell of a player for the Raiders. Can't wait to see
what he's going to do this year."
Irvin is among a number of Oakland players and coaches who have repeatedly praised Key during camp.
The 22-year-old has tried to keep it all in perspective. Key buries his head in the playbook and has been pouring over film of other pass-rushers, trying to
find new tricks to add to his arsenal of pass-rush moves.
"I look at a lot of pass-rushers to try to steal some of their moves and try them in one-on-one," Key said. "If it works it works and if I like it, it's
going to stick with me."
Getting around an offensive tackle, Key said, is much like a chess match.
"I always work on one move first and see if he beats it," Key said. "If he beats that then I'm going to counter with something else. If he beats my counter
move then I've got to counter with another counter."
The Raiders have also had Key lining up in the three-technique over a guard, giving the defense more speed for the interior rush.
"He's a stud, I'll put it that way," linebacker Tahir Whitehead said. "He's big, he's strong, he's athletic. He can go inside
Authentic Kevin Long Jersey , he can go outside. I'm excited to see him go out there in the first game and let it rip."
As for his ongoing battles against Miller, Key said the competition has been heating up between the two rookies.
"Kolton gets better every day," Key said. "From the first day we went against each to now, it's just gotten so much better. Now I have to dig in my tool box
to try to pick different moves to use on him."
Notes: The Raiders will host two joint practices with the Detroit Lions beginning Tuesday. . RB DeAndre Washington has left the team for personal
reasons but is expected back soon. . The team waived defensive back Shaquille
Richardson and signed cornerback Raysean Pringle. . Gavin Newsome, a candidate
for California governor, attended practice and chatted with owner Mark
Davis.
__
Zack Martin rejoined the Dallas Cowboys for mandatory minicamp Tuesday with the two-time All-Pro closing in on a contract that's expected to make him the
highest-paid guard in the NFL.
Martin skipped all nine voluntary offseason practices while negotiations that started about a year ago kept dragging. But he was on the field after the club
and his representatives got close on a deal over the weekend.
The 27-year-old Martin was set to make $9.3 million in the final year of his rookie deal. Martin's new contract is expected to surpass the $13.3 million
annual average in the $66.5 million, five-year contract that Jacksonville's
Andrew Norwell signed in March.
Martin, the 16th overall pick in 2014, was an All-Pro as a rookie when DeMarco Murray led the NFL in rushing for the NFC East champions. He repeated
the feat two years later when rookie Ezekiel Elliott was the league rushing
leader for another division champion.
A Pro Bowl player in each of his first four seasons, Martin only did individual and conditioning work in his first practice of the offseason. While
coach Jason Garrett said that was more because Martin has been out, the former
Notre Dame standout noted the contract isn't finished.
Four years ago, Martin was a rookie who engaged Sean Lee in a noncontact drill when the star linebacker's left knee gave way, resulting in a torn
ligament that kept Lee out all season. It was the first offseason practice.
"Right now, until the pen actually gets on paper
Jets Terrelle Pryor Sr. Jersey , I'm going to be smart about it and just do individual work and some conditioning so I don't do something stupid," Martin
said. "Two more days, so we'll see what they want to do, if we just want to play
it smart."
Martin said he wasn't sure if he would have attended the first mandatory practice without the progress in negotiations. With the agreement close, he said
it was an easy decision.
During the voluntary portion of the offseason, Martin said he worked out by himself while players were in meetings. Before practice started each day, he
went home, where he "kind of got a little stir crazy."
"If you'd have asked me, I never would have thought in a million years I'd be the guy holding out and not coming to things," Martin said. "I had to make a
decision, as hard as it was, but what was best for me. Hopefully it gets done,
but I think I made the right decision."
Assuming the Martin deal gets done, the Cowboys will have their top three offensive linemen ??all first-round picks with multiple Pro Bowls ??locked up
well past 2020. Left tackle Tyron Smith and center Travis Frederick are the
others.
Smith
Customized Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys , who signed an extension in 2014, and Frederick (2016) were the highest-paid at their positions at the time, and are
still in the top five. Martin figures he'll be on a similar track once he goes
to the top of the list.
"It's something obviously my agents and I, we were shooting for, so it's a huge honor," Martin said. "That'll probably get beat by someone whenever the
next one signs, but that's how it works. Whenever we lock this thing up, very
excited to get it over with and put it in the past."
For Garrett, it's the strongest sign of stability in the rebuilding of a line that started before his first full season as head coach, when the Cowboys
drafted Smith ninth overall in 2011.
"It took us a while to rebuild it the way we wanted to rebuild it," Garrett said. "We reinforced that idea that you have to rebuild the offensive and
defensive lines in order to allow your skill players to have some success."
NOTES: DL David Irving attended the start of minicamp after missing voluntary offseason workouts to deal with personal issues. His girlfriend accused him of
domestic abuse before recanting in a case that police in the Dallas suburb of
Frisco closed without filing charges. ... Smith was limited in practice because
of a neck issue that Garrett said was minor.
.
