When the Atlanta Falcons signed Drake London to a four-year, $141 million contract extension back in June, most fans looked at the contract terms and scoffed. Over $35 million a year and $100 million guaranteed for a guy with no All-Pros or Pro Bowls was a bold decision for Ian Cunningham to make.
The new contract made London the third-highest paid wide receiver in the NFL (and NFL history) with only Ja'Marr Chase ($40.25M a year) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($42.15M a year) making more money on an annual basis. But the unfortunate truth is this is how the WR market has evolved nowadays.
Thankfully, the Falcons gave London this money knowing he wasn't worth it right now but expecting he would take a leap toward becoming one of the best in the business. The expectation was that this deal would age better over time, especially as more wideouts will cash in across the next four years.
When Michael Penix Jr. is healthy, the 25-year-old has proven to be one of the more productive pass-catchers in football, and their connection is making Atlanta lucky they signed him to this extension when they did, because if they had waited, his price tag would have gotten even higher with the way he's produced in 2026--and now that Penix is shining, it's helped Drake take that same leap as well.
Drake London has been playing like one of the NFL's best wide receivers
Through seven weeks, London is currently third in the NFL with 616 receiving yards, as only Smith-Njigba (867) and Chris Olave (636) have more than him. And given one of the guys ahead of him is one of the players being paid more than him, the Falcons would give him this deal 100 times out of 100.
In the 29-20 upset victory over the San Francisco 49ers, London caught seven of 10 targets for 66 yards and scored his first touchdown of the season on a 21-yard strike from Penix as his touchdown-less streak that has last since the 2025 season finale against the Saints has finally come to an end.
Penix to London to extend the Atlanta lead!
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 25, 2026
📺️: FOX/FOX One pic.twitter.com/TdZhj0d5iW
He's no longer the most productive WR without a touchdown, and he picked the perfect time to end that streak as it put the Dirty Birds up by two scores to start the fourth quarter. And with the 49ers keying in on trying to stop Bijan, London came through, picking up first downs on four of his catches. That's exactly why Penix knows he can trust him: he always comes through.
Although the former top-10 pick has only one 1,000-yard season to his name and is on pace for a second--but he's also never had less than 850 receiving yards in a season in his career. It's that level of ultra-consistency that lets the Falcons know exactly what they're getting in him, and his presence as one of their better locker room leaders is just as important.
London has good hands, he has good size at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he has solid speed, can run routes pretty well for a bigger body, and is versatile enough to be moved around the formation. The USC product has everything you can ask for from a WR1, and his physicality makes him such a matchup nightmare when defenses also have to worry about Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts.
While Drake London is not in that tier with Chase and JSN, it's evident he's now among the six or seven best wide receivers in the NFL, and since Michael Penix Jr.'s return has offered him consistently good QB play and he's taken advantage of being his favorite target, nobody can say the Falcons' decision to sign him to a four-year, $141 million extension is a mistake.
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