The Falcons have two of the best young pass catchers in football in Kyle Pitts and Drake London. The former was finally the featured piece of the offensive gameplan in Week 3 against Seattle, totaling five receptions for 87 yards in the Falcons’ 27-23 victory over the Seahawks after putting up four catches for 38 yards in the previous two games combined. The latter has been unbelievable through his first three NFL games and has a real chance to be Atlanta’s first Offensive Rookie of the Year since 2008.
London hauled in the first touchdown of his career in Week 2 against the Rams to go along with eight receptions and 86 yards, making him the first rookie to record at least five receptions and 70 yards in his first two games since 2015, when Stefon Diggs did it. And that success has continued. London recorded three catches for 54 yards and another touchdown in the team’s first victory of 2022, bringing his total to 16 receptions for 214 yards and two touchdowns.
Interestingly, Sam Monson of PFF had a ton of compliments to give London, who is the league’s highest-graded rookie receiver ahead of Garrett Wilson of the Jets.
“London has flashed remarkable consistency within the Falcons’ offense over three weeks of action. He saw six targets this week, catching three of them for 54 yards and a touchdown. London is a perfect fit for Arthur Smith’s offense, catching in-breaking routes and breaking tackles after the reception. In this game, he didn’t catch any of the three contested targets sent his way, but that’s typically a strength of his game and speaks to an even higher ceiling as a baseline going forward.”
Even more impressive, London is PFF’s seventh highest-graded receiver out of a possible 158 — in the conversation with Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle. Despite the selection being met with heavy criticism, the Falcons drafting Drake London has already paid massive dividends.
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