Houston Texans: 2016 breakout candidate wide receiver Jaelen Strong

After a rough rookie season Houston Texans wide receiver Jaelen Strong looks to have a breakout season in 2016 and has already impressed the staff

During the 2015 NFL Draft the Houston Texans decided to make a move up for a talented wide receiver out of Arizona State, Jaelen Strong. In order to make the move from their 82nd pick up to number 70, the team gave up their fifth and seventh-round picks as well as veteran receiver DeVier Posey.

The move looked to be solid as the Texans got a receiver in the third-round who was believed to be a late-first-to-early-second round talent at one point according to some scouts.

That didn’t prove to be the case his rookie season as Strong bought too much into his own pre-draft hype and showed up to camp overweight and out of shape. He admittedly thought he was going to be able to get by on his big play skills and was unprepared for the NFL.

Despite a big showing in his first outing, which didn’t come until October 8th due to being inactive in each game before, he finished with just 14 receptions for 161 yards and three touchdowns.

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After the disappointing rookie season Strong was arrested for marijuana possession and things looked bleak for the once promising wide out. To make matters even tougher on him, the team has since drafted two more players at his position, using a first round pick on Will Fuller and a third round selection on Braxton Miller.

The bumpy offseason must have served as a wake up call for Strong as he has reportedly showed an incredible turnaround during the early parts of the offseason programs.

"“Probably one of the most improved players on our football team, Jaelen Strong,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said per Tania Ganguli of ESPN. “From this point where he was last year compared to where he is now, he has turned it around 180 degrees. … He’s a guy that I think we’re all proud of.”"

Strong’s transformation can be seen simply by looking at him. The 6-foot-4 receiver has slimmed down 30 pounds and reported at 210 pounds this offseason. Now in better shape, Strong hopes his new health and more focused approach help him turn his sophomore season into a much more successful year than his rookie one was.

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For the Texans, an improved Strong would be huge as it would take pressure of their star receiver DeAndre Hopkins while allowing Fuller time to adjust to the NFL level and Braxton Miller would be given more time to learn his new position that he switched to just one season ago.