Dane Key, WR, Nebraska
Size:
Height: 6’3” | Weight: 195 lbs
Accomplishments:
Honorable Mention Freshman All-American (2022) • Four-star prospect
“Dane Key is a big, physical receiver who uses surprising hip flexibility and football IQ to find space over the intermediate area of the field.”
Strengths:
Football IQ
Vertical sell
Footwork
Release package
Concerns:
Top speed
Hand usage
YAC
Film Analysis:
Dane Key is a surprisingly good mover for a receiver listed at 6-foot-3 and has been consistent over his first two collegiate seasons, totaling 1155 yards and 12 touchdowns. Key will look to break out this season with a new quarterback, likely Brock Vandagriff, and offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, who is at the helm of the Kentucky offense and looking to create more explosive plays.
Key wins with his brain first and foremost, understanding the leverage of the defender across from him and how he should attack. He has varied releases against press coverage on the outside that give him different avenues into space or to get vertical. Through his stem, he does a great job of selling routes vertically through body language—shoulders square and head straight—and eating up space until the breakpoint. At the top of his route, he adjusts the break based on the defender's leverage and shows the willingness to head fake at the top and break the corner off entirely. Key decelerates quickly and sinks his hips surprisingly well to stay in phase of his routes with limited wasted movement or added steps. He’s firm through the catch point and has good hands away from his body.
With his release packages, better hand usage must be used to free himself from more physical corners that can throw off his timing. He does a fine job stacking defenders, but the burst and top-end speed to separate deep aren’t there. Changing up speeds in his route stem will be a valuable tool to give defenders more to think about in Key’s route tree. He’s more of a possession receiver who offers little after the catch to make defenders miss in space.
Key will hurt defenses over the middle and intermediate parts of the field with his IQ and movement skills, but he needs to develop better hand usage and more nuance in his route stem to be a more complete receiver.
Prospect Projection: Day 3 — Developmental Traits
Written By: Daniel Harms
