The Browns signed wide receiver Jaelen Strong Wednesday, per the team’s Twitter account.
The Arizona State product was drafted by the Texans in the third round of the 2015 draft but hasn’t been able to stick on an NFL roster.
Strong has played in 20 career games and posted 31 total catches for 330 yards and four touchdowns. After splitting time with Houston and Jacksonville during the 2017 season, Strong was jobless for the 2018 season due to an ACL injury he suffered in his one and only appearance with the Jaguars.
This is a low-risk, high-reward move for John Dorsey and the Browns.
Strong was regarded as one of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2015 draft but fell to the third round due to an apparent wrist injury and some off-field issues.
At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Strong is the prototypical wide receiver the Browns were missing last season. Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Breshad Perriman and Antonio Callaway proved to a solid group last season, but they are guys that are best suited to do damage over the middle of the field and near the boundaries.
Strong’s big and physical build could bring an extra element to the Browns passing attack, as he projects to be more of a “go up and get it” type of receiver. His physical nature can turn him into a reliable red-zone threat, similar to the role David Njoku played on the goal-line.
Strong’s talent level is obvious and whether or not he pans out to be the stud wideout that many expected coming out of college, he can still very well be an important piece of depth to the 2019 Browns’ receivers room.
Similar to the revitalization Perriman saw in brown and orange in 2018, Strong, 25, will be looking for a jump-start to his still young NFL career. He can do that with Cleveland.
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