Drake London played football and basketball at Moorpark high school in Moorpark, California. He earned a 4-star rating as a football prospect and committed to being a two-sport athlete at USC. He played two sports only one year and then opted to focus on football. London missed a fair amount of time due to injuries during his college career, but also produced alongside NFL-caliber prospects at USC.
As a freshman - at age 18 - London recorded 39 receptions, 567 yards, and five touchdowns. His 99th-percentile Breakout Age (18.1) is impressive in and of itself, but it is far more impressive when realizing he shared the field with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Michael Pittman, Jr. and Velus Jones. London was No. 4 on the team in receptions and receiving yards in his freshman season. In 2020, however, London ended a Covid-shortened season with more receiving yards than St. Brown while Amon-Ra had more receptions.
2021 was London's last and most productive season at USC. He commanded a 24.8-percent target share which turned into 88 receptions and 1,084 yards. His production paced the USC receivers by a wide margin; however, London played in only 8 of the Trojans' 12 games, missing the latter part of the season with injuries. Despite only one season with 1,000-plus receiving yards, London's production resume was solid enough to declare for the NFL Draft after his junior season.
London was selected in the first round (1.08) of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, and was the first receiver off the board. Despite poor quarterback play by Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder, London proved he could be productive at the NFL level. Not only did he earn a soaring 29-percent (No. 5) Target Share and 32-percent (No. 2) Target Rate, he translated that into a hyper-efficient 2.4 (No. 11) Yards Per Route Run. The struggles of the Atlanta offense led to disappointing fantasy production, as London earned just 10.5 (No. 43) fantasy points per game.
Entering his sophomore season, London's only additional target competition in the receiver room is veteran Mack Hollins. Bijan Robinson could take away some targets and red zone opportunities, however, and it is likely Arthur Smith will continue to lean into a run-heavy offense. London would be the lead target getter in 2023, but the quality of targets from Desmond Ridder were low quality passes. Add in Arthur Smiths meddlesome antics, and it was another year with average production from a potential superstar. But hope is on the horizon for 2024 as Kirk Cousins replaces Ridder. Arthur Smith has been shipped out for Raheem Morris who brings an offense similar to the Los Angeles Rams to Atlanta. London appears primed and ready to smash in 2024.
.
