The Atlanta Falcons have a history of strong QB-WR duos.
Steve Bartkowski and Alfred Jenkins. Roddy White and Matt Ryan. Julio Jones and Matt Ryan.
Now, rookies Drake London and Desmond Ridder will get a chance to add themselves to that list.
Selected in the first and third round of this year's draft, London and Ridder have forged a strong friendship since joining the Falcons together. But the pair haven't seen the field yet together. That changes Sunday when Ridder makes his first NFL start.
London is particularly happy to see his draft classmate and friend get a chance to prove himself.
“Only time will tell,” London said. “Oh, yeah, that’s my boy. I came in here with him. Built a relationship with him. Just been grinding ever since. To see him finally get a shot, it’s just really, really cool to see. Just to see that smile again.”
While London has been decent in his rookie season, catching 47 passes for 533 yards and four touchdowns, critics believed that London's growth was stunted by Marcus Mariota's low ceiling. With Ridder supplanted under center, there's a chance that the chemistry between the two rookies could help London's numbers go up.
“Drake’s my guy,” Ridder said. “I mean, yeah, but I’m comfortable with the other 10 guys that are out there with me. Just because I’m closer with Drake because we came in together and we’re boys, that doesn’t mean that I’m not boys with each and every of the (offensive) linemen or OZ (Olamide Zaccheaus) or (KhaDarel Hodge) or any other guy that’s out there.”
The Ridder-London connection makes its debut Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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