What a wild few months for Arden Key and Maurice Hurst. The two former mid-round Raiders draft picks were cut by the team that drafted them on the same day last April. Then both were signed by the 49ers on the same day a week later. Nine months later, they’ll both be taking the field in the NFC Championship game.
Key and Hurst both brought high hopes with them when they were selected in the third and fifth rounds respectively in the 2018 draft.
Both were considered to have gone lower than their talent suggested. Key’s issue was character red flags while Hurst’s issue was a heart condition that popped up at the scouting combine.
Neither issue materialized in the pros. But unfortunately for the Raiders their talent that had them viewed as steals never really showed up either.
Hurst won a starting job right away and put up four sacks and 31 combined tackles as a rookie. Decent numbers for a three-tech defensive tackle. But his production leveled off and began to taper in the two years after.
He has been hampered by injuries this season, twice landing on injured reserve. He recently returned to full health but has not been active since week five, so he may or may not play in the game Sunday.
Key showed immense potential in Raiders training camp, abusing every offensive lineman the Raiders put in his way. But in actual games, that would lead to just three sacks in three seasons combined.
His arrival in San Francisco seems to have done the trick to realize his potential. This season he has been one of the 49ers’ better pass rushers, putting up 6.5 sacks, 17 QB hits and five tackles for loss.
Back in August Key took a shot at the Raiders, saying “I wanted to get out of there. I’d been wanting to get out of there. So, I wasn’t surprised. I was more happy than surprised. I wish it happened a little earlier, but hey, I got what I wanted. So, I’m good.”
Key has always been known for being outspoken. And to his credit, he went out and backed up his words. And his happiness is now not just limited to apparently being in a better position for his talents, but on a team that will be playing for a shot at the Super Bowl this Sunday.
