Oakland Raiders: Areas their young defensive linemen must improve

Arden Key – Strength

Even though he appears unable to finish many of his sack opportunities, the pass rush ability is evident with Key. With time you expect him to be able to close the deal on some of those pressures and the sacks number will go up. Unfortunately, it is the complete opposite when it comes to playing the run where he had little impact.

Many of his problem in both the run and pass game can be linked to one thing, in particular, which is his lack of strength. Key needs to hit the weight room hard this offseason to take his game to the next level.

The added strength will allow him the better set the edge in the run game. It’ll also help his pass rush because at the moment he does not possess the ability to convert his speed off the edge into power which is one of the most valuable tools for an edge defender. There were a ton of times this year where if he couldn’t blow by his man he would have no counter.

And perhaps QB will stop slipping out of his hands if he is coming with more strength. Just like Hurst, he’s got this entire offseason to build his strength, and it should be his #1 priority.