NFL Draft: Jaelen Strong Profile
The buzz around one of the strongest wide receiver draft classes in recent history includes a wide receiver who played his last two seasons at the NCAA level with the Arizona State Sun Devils, Jaelen Strong.
Strong, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, transferred to Arizona State as a redshirt sophomore before the 2013 season. He soon became quarterback Taylor Kelly’s favorite target in the high-paced offense of ASU.
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The 6’2″, 217-pound wide receiver possesses a 42-inch vertical jump, good for second-best at the NFL Combine amongst wide receivers. Strong finished ninth in the broad jump section of the Combine with a jump of 10’3″. Finally, he posted a 4.44 40-yard dash time which was tied for 13th for wide receivers.
Strong’s ability to make catches in traffic is terrific, but it always seemed like he lacked the “second-gear” to break away from defenders at the collegiate level. Defenders will only be faster at the next level and Strong must work on finding that break away speed if he wants to produce at the NFL level.
Strong was a member of the First Team All PAC-12 in 2014 and was also a Biletnikoff Award (top WR in the nation) semifinalist. He has been compared to Dwayne Bowe, according to NFL.com’s draft profile.
According to Todd McShay, Strong reminds him of Anquan Boldin.
There are numerous teams that could very well be in the running for the Arizona State product in the draft. Those teams include the Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers (Strong’s favorite team while growing up), Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Recently we had an article discussing where we thought each Arizona State prospect would land and here are the predictions for where Strong will be taken.
Josh Norris, writer at Rotoworld, has Strong listed as the 16th best wide receiver and the 82nd best prospect in the draft. Norris also doesn’t have Strong being drafted in the first round in his updated NFL mock draft.
It will be interesting to see if Strong gets taken on day one of the NFL Draft during the first round or if he will have to wait for the next day to hear his name called. Be sure to tune into the NFL Draft on April 30 to see if Strong gets taken.