It's abundantly clear at this point that Drake London is one of the better wide receivers in the NFL. He has good size, versatility, and is great in the red zone, but has never been one of the wideouts looked at in that elite tier. And the reason for that isn't his own fault: the Atlanta Falcons are to blame for this.
In terms of both talent and proven track record, London deserves to be considered among the NFL's top 10 wide receivers, but he isn't appreciated nearly enough as he should be. And that's because the Falcons have surrounded him with some of the most unstable quarterback play a WR could receive.
He's not Ja'Marr Chase, who's been catching passes from Joe Burrow from the moment he stepped on an NFL field. Atlanta doesn't have their new franchise quarterback yet, and not only has it held the offense back enough, it's preventing Drake London from reaching his true potential as an elite WR.
Falcons' abysmal QB play is having an adverse effect on Drake London
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler has been surveying NFL coaches, executives, and scouts on the 10 best players at every position, and you'd think that the 24-year-old would be listed. But it's this lingering issue that saw London get snubbed, as he only got an honorable mention in the WR rankings.
"Really solid in most areas, great at the 50-50 catch, great in the red zone," an NFL coordinator said. "He won't take the top off as often as some others, more of a possession guy, but really good in his role. He'd probably be more of a household name with better QB play."
And it's not even his fault either. He's done the best with what he could. Let's go over the quarterbacks London has played with in his five-year NFL career:
- Desmond Ridder
- Marcus Mariota
- Taylor Heinicke
- Michael Penix Jr.
- Kirk Cousins
- Tua Tagovailoa
In all four seasons the 6-foot-4, 218-pound wideout has played, the Dirty Birds have had a different starting quarterback. In fact, they've made a mid-season QB change in every single year. And yet, even with play under center that would make a lesser WR turn to stone, he's been wildly consistent.
The USC product has never had less than 850 yards in a season, and in the one season where his QB play was passable, he was elite. In. 2024 with Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr., he caught 100 passes for nearly 1,300 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, all of which marked career-highs.
If he's done this with not a single even average signal-caller, there's no telling what he's in store for once Atlanta finds their franchise quarterback. Even if Penix can turn things around or Tua Tagovailoa can provide the offense some stability, London should be in for the best season of his career to date.
The Falcons just signed him to a four-year, $141 million contract extension because they see him as elite. So far the QB play has been awful, but once it stabilizes, not only will Drake London make this deal quite worth it, he'll cement himself on lists like these as one of the NFL's best wide receivers.
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