Cleveland Browns To Sign Former STMA Star As Undrafted Free Agent

ST. MICHAEL, MN — Former St. Michael-Albertville football star Isaiah Weston is set to sign for the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent, according to reports.

Weston, an Albertville native, was not selected during the 2022 NFL Draft but secured a spot in the NFL within hours of the draft ending, Weston’s alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa, tweeted Saturday night.

The Draft Network’s Justin Melo also tweeted that the Browns are signing Weston.

Some mock drafts projected Weston would be selected among the final picks in Round 7 on Saturday, while one ESPN analyst projected him to go as high as No. 100.

ESPN’s Jeff Legwold wrote that Weston "deserves a little more attention" after the former STMA star stunned evaluators with his NFL Combine workout.

Weston ran the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds; had a vertical jump of 40 inches and a broad jump of 11 feet, 3 inches; and bench-pressed 225 pounds 20 times, according to the University of Northern Iowa.

"Weston didn't just turn heads with his combine workout, he spun them around as evaluators were forced to go back and look why he had six games this past season with two or fewer receptions," Legwold wrote, explaining that Weston's college career included a season lost to injury and two seasons disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Weston starred during his senior season at STMA. He had 45 catches for 1,011 yards and 11 touchdowns across 13 games to lead the Knights to a Class 5A state title in 2015, according to statistics from MN Football Hub.

He accepted an offer to play at Northern Iowa, where he built a reputation as a wide receiver who can stretch defenses vertically and whose "downfield ball skills can be spectacular at times," according to his profile on NFL.com.

Weston redshirted during his first season at Northern Iowa in 2016 and started five of 13 games in 2017, catching 22 passes for 380 yards and five touchdowns, NFL.com statistics show.

Weston missed the entire 2018 season with a knee injury but earned second-team All-American honors and first-team conference honors after leading the Panthers in 2019 with 43 catches for 1,053 yards in 12 games, according to NFL.com's Chad Reuter.

He also tied a Northern Iowa school record with touchdown catches in seven straight games. Weston was also the Panthers' top receiver during the 2021 fall season, with 37 catches for 883 yards and five touchdowns, Reuter wrote.

Weston is "flexible, fast and athletic," and he has the size to play in the NFL, his profile says. He "gets the most out of his catch radius" and has the "length and lift to go up and swipe the jump ball," but he needs to work on running routes and locating deep passes quicker, according to NFL.com.