Jaylen Key (born February 29, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of the American Athletic Conference and participates in Divisi ...

and the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

. He was selected by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

with the final pick of the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

, making him that year's Mr. Irrelevant.

Early life

Key grew up in

Quincy, Florida Quincy is a city in and the county seat of Gadsden County, Florida, United States. Quincy is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area, Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,970 as of the 2020 census, almost eve ...

and attended Amos P. Godby High School. Coming out of high school, Key was rated as a three-star recruit where he decided to commit to play

for the

College career

UAB

In Key's first three seasons in 2019, 2020, and 2021, Key notched 18 tackles, a pass deflection, and a fumble recovery. In week thirteen of the 2022 season, Key made 12 tackles versus

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. During the 2022 season, Key tallied 60 tackles with four and a half being for a loss, three interceptions, and two forced fumbles. For his performance on the 2022 season, Key was named honorable mention all Conference-USA. After the conclusion of the 2022 season, Key decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Alabama

Key decided to transfer to play for the

. Coming into the 2023 season, Key won a starting safety spot on the Crimson Tide defense. During week one of the 2023 season, Key snagged an interception in a win over

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...

. Key finished the 2023 season with 60 tackles with one and a half being for a loss, a pass deflection, and an interception. After the conclusion of the 2023 season, Key decided to declare for the

Professional career

New York Jets

Key was selected by the

in the seventh round, with the 257th overall pick, of the

. He was the final pick of the draft, making him 2024's Mr. Irrelevant. He was waived on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on October 30.

Cincinnati Bengals

On December 17, 2024, Key was signed to the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 7, 2025.

References

External links

New York Jets bioUAB Blazers bioAlabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Jaylen 2000 births Living people Players of American football from Tallahassee, Florida American football safeties UAB Blazers football players Alabama Crimson Tide football players New York Jets players Cincinnati Bengals players