Falcons WR Drake London Among Best Against Zone Coverage?
With Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson as options in the backfield, the Atlanta Falcons' offense will be a unit that leans on the run primarily. However, coach Arthur Smith still has some interesting weapons at his disposal in the passing game between tight end Kyle Pitts and receiver Drake London.
After being selected with the No. 8 overall pick in last year's draft, London impressed in his rookie season. In fact, Pro Football Focus says that London was actually its fifth-highest graded receiver against zone coverage during the 2022 season.
"London led all rookies with 34 first downs gained when facing zone, which also ranked right outside the top 10 among qualified receivers, tied with Mike Evans," PFF writes. "London was targeted 74 times in zone coverage, bringing in 51 of those opportunities for 632 yards."
In total, London caught 72 passes for 866 yards in his rookie season, pretty impressive production when you consider that between Marcus Mariota and a rookie Desmond Ridder, the Falcons didn't exactly get elite quarterback play in 2022.
As mentioned above, the running game is going to be the meal ticket for Smith and the Falcons. At the same time, the Tennessee Titans reached the AFC Championship Game in the 2019 season behind a monster season from running back Derrick Henry, with Smith as offensive coordinator. Wide receiver A.J. Brown still had an excellent rookie season in 2019, catching 52 passes for 1,051 yards in a passing offense that thrived on play-action plays.
If Ridder is able to take even a modest step forward as he gets the chance to be the team's starting quarterback, it could mean that London emerges as one of the game's best young receivers.
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