Jaelen Strong (born January 25, 1994) is an American former 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 ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in 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

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

Early life

Strong's father, John Rankin, played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

at Drexel and died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

in 2003 when Strong was 9. Strong attended West Catholic Preparatory High School in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he played

and ran track. As a junior, he caught 24 passes for 385 yards with four

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. As a senior, he had 17 receptions for 318 yards and four touchdowns. He had scholarship offers from

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

, Villanova and VMI before opting to attend Pierce College. In track & field, Strong posted personal-bests of 6.42 meters (20-11.5) in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and 12.42 meters (40-6.5) in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

College career

Strong attended

Los Angeles Pierce College Los Angeles Pierce College, shortened to Pierce College or simply Pierce, is a public community college in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Woodland Hills in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College Distri ...

for two years before transferring to

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. 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. In 2014, he had 82 receptions for 1,165 yards and 10 touchdowns. After his junior season, Strong entered the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

Professional career

Pre-draft

Coming into the draft, Strong was ranked by some analysts as a late first-round prospect. He had been criticized for his lack of vertical speed, but surprised many with a 4.44

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

at the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

. His

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

of 42 inches was the 4th best among

s over the past ten years.

Houston Texans

Strong was selected by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

with the 70th overall pick in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft. The Texans traded with 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 ...

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 The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

(229th overall, Jets traded pick to

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

), and wide receiver DeVier Posey. Against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

on October 8, 2015, he made his first two career receptions, both for touchdowns; the first was on a 42-yard

hail mary pass A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with a very small chance of achieving a completion (American football), completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes r ...

to end the first half. 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 The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on December 10, 2016. 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. On September 18, 2017, Strong was released by the Texans.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On September 19, 2017, Strong was claimed off waivers by the

. He was released by the Jaguars on November 18, 2017 and was re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on December 23, 2017. 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. He was released on April 30, 2018.

Cleveland Browns

After spending the 2018 season out of the NFL, Strong was signed by the

on February 20, 2019. Strong was waived by the Browns on August 27, 2019.

Personal life

On February 28, 2016, Strong was arrested in

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

for marijuana possession. He was later released from jail.

References

External links

*
Arizona State Sun Devils bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, Jaelen 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Philadelphia American football wide receivers Pierce Brahmas football players Arizona State Sun Devils football players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Jacksonville Jaguars players Cleveland Browns players