Jaelen Strong

Jaelen Strong (born January 25, 1994)[1] is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Arizona State.

Jaelen Strong
refer to caption
Strong in 2019 training camp
Personal information
Born: (1994-01-25) January 25, 1994
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:Philadelphia (PA) West Catholic
College:Arizona State
Position:Wide receiver
NFL Draft:2015 / Round: 3 / Pick: 70
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:31
Receiving yards:330
Receiving touchdowns:4
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Strong's father, John Rankin, played college basketball at Drexel and died of leukemia in 2003 when Strong was 9.[2][3] Strong attended West Catholic Preparatory High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he played football and ran track. As a junior, he caught 24 passes for 385 yards with four touchdowns. As a senior, he had 17 receptions for 318 yards and four touchdowns. He had scholarship offers from Eastern Michigan, Villanova and VMI before opting to attend Pierce College.[4] In track & field, Strong posted personal-bests of 6.42 meters (20-11.5) in the long jump and 12.42 meters (40-6.5) in the triple jump.[5]

College career

Strong attended Los Angeles Pierce College for two years before transferring to Arizona State University.[6] At Pierce in 2012, he had 67 receptions for 1,263 yards and 15 touchdowns in 10 games. In his first season at Arizona State in 2013, he had 75 receptions for 1,122 yards and seven touchdowns.[7][8] In 2014, he had 82 receptions for 1,165 yards and 10 touchdowns.

After his junior season, Strong entered the 2015 NFL Draft.[9][10]

Professional career

Coming into the draft, Strong was ranked by some analysts as a late first-round prospect.[11][12] He had been criticized for his lack of vertical speed, but surprised many with a 4.44 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.[13] His vertical jump of 42 inches was the 4th best among wide receivers over the past ten years.[13]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench pressWonderlic
6 ft 2+3⁄8 in
(1.89 m)		 217 lb
(98 kg)		 32+1⁄2 in
(0.83 m)		 9 in
(0.23 m)		4.44 s1.57 s2.59 s4.19 s7.33 s42 in
(1.07 m)		10 ft 3 in
(3.12 m)		14 reps22
All values from NFL Combine

Houston Texans

Strong was selected by the Houston Texans with the 70th overall pick in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft.[14] The Texans traded with the New York Jets for the pick, giving away their own third round pick (82nd overall, Jets picked Lorenzo Mauldin), their fifth round pick (152nd overall, Jets picked Jarvis Harrison), a seventh round pick via the Cleveland Browns (229th overall, Jets traded pick to Jacksonville Jaguars), and wide receiver DeVier Posey.[15] Against the Indianapolis Colts on October 8, 2015, he made his first two career receptions, both for touchdowns; the first was on a 42-yard hail mary pass to end the first half.[16] He finished his rookie season with 14 receptions for 161 yards and three touchdowns.

In Week 8 of the 2016 season, Strong suffered a serious ankle sprain against the Lions. The injury kept him out the next five weeks before being placed on injured reserve on December 10, 2016.[17] He finished his second season with 14 receptions for 131 yards with no touchdowns in eight games.

Strong was suspended the first game of the 2017 season for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.[18]

On September 18, 2017, Strong was released by the Texans.[19]

Jacksonville Jaguars

On September 19, 2017, Strong was claimed off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars.[20] He was released by the Jaguars on November 18, 2017 and was re-signed to the practice squad.[21] He was promoted to the active roster on December 23, 2017.[22] In Week 16, Strong caught three passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. However, he suffered a torn ACL in the game and was placed on injured reserve on December 26, 2017.[23] He was released on April 30, 2018.[24]

Cleveland Browns

After spending the 2018 season out of the NFL, Strong was signed by the Cleveland Browns on February 20, 2019.[25]

Strong was waived by the Browns on August 27, 2019.[26]

Personal life

On February 28, 2016, Strong was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona for marijuana possession. He was later released from jail.[27]

References
  1. The 2015 NFL Draft Age Database
  2. Jaelen Strong, son of ex-Drexel star, finds success at Arizona St.
  3. ASU football's Jaelen Strong happy after long road to Tempe
  4. "Jaelen Strong - Football".
  5. "Jaelen Rankin-Strong - Feed".
  6. Strong as advertised in ASU debut but wants more
  7. ASU wide receiver Jaelen Strong's game has improved 'everywhere'
  8. ASU football WR Jaelen Strong comes back stronger
  9. ASU's Jaelen Strong enters draft
  10. ASU receiver Jaelen Strong declares for the NFL draft
  11. Casserly, Charley (April 27, 2015). "Mock Draft 3.0: Two CBs go in top 14". NFL.com. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  12. Baldinger, Brian (April 24, 2015). "Mock Draft 3.0: Eagles deal up for Mariota". NFL.com. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  13. Zimmerman, Kevin (February 21, 2015). "Jaelen Strong makes scouts look silly in NFL combine". FOX Sports Arizona. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  14. "2015 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  15. Sidhu, Deepi (May 1, 2015). "Texans trade again, draft WR Jaelen Strong in 3rd round". HoustonTexans.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  16. Hasselback leads Colts CBSSports, Retrieved October 9, 2015
  17. "Denzel Rice to active roster, Jaelen Strong to IR". HoustonTexans.com. December 10, 2016. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018.
  18. Patra, Kevin (August 24, 2017). "Texans' Jaelen Strong suspended one game by NFL". NFL.com.
  19. Sessler, Marc (September 18, 2017). "Houston Texans release wideout Jaelen Strong". NFL.com.
  20. "Jaguars claim wide receiver Jaelen Strong off waivers". Jaguars.com. September 19, 2017. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017.
  21. "Jaguars make roster moves". Jaguars.com. November 18, 2017.
  22. Williams, Charean (December 23, 2017). "Jaguars promote Jaelen Strong to 53-player roster". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
  23. "Jaguars make roster moves". Jaguars.com. December 26, 2017. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018.
  24. Oehser, John (April 30, 2018). "'18 offseason: Undrafted free agents bring roster to 89". Jaguars.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  25. "Browns sign WR Jaelen Strong". ClevelandBrowns.com. February 20, 2019.
  26. "Browns waive WR Jaelen Strong". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 27, 2019.
  27. Ganguli, Terry (February 29, 2016). "Texans WR Jaelen Strong arrested for marijuana possession, released". ESPN. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
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