Falcons' Drake London Finally Gaining Respect Around the League

For whatever reason, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London doesn't get the recognition he probably deserves around the league. It's unfortunately a pretty common occurrence for young players with the Falcons.

But that may be changing with London.

On Tuesday, the receiver made his debut on the Top 100 players list of 2025 from NFL Network. London came in on the list at No. 97.

"A breakout season led London to break through to the Top 100 for the first time. He paced Atlanta in receiving across the board, a target hog who delivered consistently for the league's fifth-ranked passing offense," NFL.com's Bobby Kownack wrote. "His output across quarterback’s three starts paints an especially pretty picture for the future: 352 yards and two TDs on a whopping 37.1% target share.

"Might it only be the beginning for the young Falcons duo? It's a tantalizing thought."

I take partial issue with labeling London's 2024 campaign a "breakout" season not because it wasn't a great year but because he had 69 catches for 905 yards in 2023. As a rookie, London had 72 receptions for 866 yards during 2022 as well.

We live in such an instant gratification world that if a receiver isn't a 1,000-yard guy immediately, he doesn't appear worthy of our time to a lot of fans. But London has arguably been very good to great since he made his debut with the Falcons.

His better statistics in 2024 were likely the result of better quarterback play in Atlanta. While that doesn't seem possible with Kirk Cousins' benching, Falcons fans who remember Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke from 2023 know it to be true.

There appears to be even better days ahead for London with Michael Penix Jr. behind center. London posted 22 catches for 352 receiving yards and two touchdowns in just three Penix starts at the end of 2024.

It's long overdue, but it's great to see London finally receive his credit as a top 100 player in the league.

London's ranking from NFL Network came about two weeks after the CBS Sports Top 100 NFL players list didn't include London. The Falcons on the CBS Sports list were running back Bijan Robinson, guard Chris Lindstrom and safety Jessie Bates.

The NFL Network list is probably the most prestigious ranking a player can be included on during the offseason. Unlike other lists, current NFL players vote themselves to determine the NFL Network's top 100 players in the league entering each season.