NFL expert picks an obvious Falcons breakout candidate for 2024

It is fairly safe to say that the Atlanta Falcons' 2024 season hinges heavily upon quarterback play. After all, Atlanta handed out a hefty contract to Kirk Cousins in hopes he was, in fact, the missing link.

For a couple of years now, the Falcons have been a team defined by a broad spectrum of talent, except for under center. And now, with Cousins surrounded by talent all over the place, this is a team which feels like a breakout candidate for the coming season and could give the Bucs and Saints a run for the division title.

Speaking of breakout, one of those should be coming for one player, in particular: wide receiver Drake London. In what should be the easiest, most obvious breakout pick for this Falcons team, London is entering that oh-so-important Year 3 for a wide receiver. It's the year many great wideouts finally bust loose, and lucky for London, he has a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback to assist.

Recently, Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice published a column based around some of his breakout candidates for the upcoming season, and to no one's surprise, he included London.

Wrote Tice:

"If new Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson replicates the Rams' preferred style — condensed formations, jet motion, similar personnel and formations on a snap-to-snap basis — London’s bullyball style and ability to win inside and out will be unlocked."

Tice went on to highlight guys like Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore who have more limited skill sets, but reiterated the fact that London is good enough to win so long as the quarterback play is leveled-up.

"Even with less-than-ideal running mates, London looks primed to take off this year. The flashes have been there, the underlying stats (he has posted excellent yards per route numbers) are there, and now the offense looks like it’s set up to make it all more consistent, obvious and less frustrating for Falcons fans."

Boldly predicting Drake London's 2024 stat line

If all goes according to plan, for London, he should be in line for a monstrous output in his third pro season. Let's do some simple comparisons, for a moment. Take Cousins' previous no. 1 wide receiver and arguably the top wideout in the game, Justin Jefferson. Sure, London is not Jefferson. But, Cousins' last full season with Jefferson saw him give his top dog 184 targets.

Now, London probably won't receive as many targets. That's an absurd number. But, let's say that London goes from 110 targets in 2023 to 145 this coming season. The Falcons will likely want to stick to running often, as they've got an elite back field with Bijan Robinson leading the way. But, London is the guy, and should receive more targets than ever with Cousins under center.

Let's say London ups his catch percentage from 62.7, last year, to even a mild 70 percent this season. Couple that with improving his yards per reception (13.1 last season) to a modest 13.6 in 2024, and you could see a line like this:

102 receptions
1,388 yards
8 receiving touchdowns

So far, London has caught six touchdowns in his career. With a quarterback like Cousins, we're going to boldly predict eight in his breakout year.

How's that for a breakout, Falcons fans?