What Falcons Have Missed During Drake London's Absence

The Atlanta Falcons have been without a key wide receiver for much of the season, and it cost him another big year and help on offense

Even with injuries, London has looked solid overall this season | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London enjoyed a breakout season in 2024, finishing the year with 1,271 yards and nine touchdowns. He continued his dominance into 2025, where the fourth-year pass catcher was top 10 in both yards and touchdowns before injuring his knee in Week 11 vs the Carolina Panthers. 

London missed the Falcons' next four games before returning to the field in Week 16 against the Arizona Cardinals. He didn’t look like he was at 100%, finishing the game with just three catches for 27 yards on eight targets. 

“He said he felt rusty out there,” Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson informed the media on Wednesday. “Which he hasn’t played in a while. There’s a rhythm to football… For him to miss all those games, you lose a little bit of that rhythm.”

London had not seen NFL action since Nov. 16, with Sunday marking his first in-game snaps in over a month. He played 53 snaps at receiver on Sunday, his least in a game that he has been active for this season. 

Robinson went on to say that London was playing “as well as any wide receiver in the NFL before his knee injury. 

A statement that is certainly true. London had recorded 100 or more receiving yards in five of the last six games before his injury, including a 158-yard performance against the Buffalo Bills.

Despite playing just 10 games this season, London is tied for the fifth most games in the league with 100 or more receiving yards this season, with five such games. 

London is one of only eight players, and one of only five receivers, to have three or more receiving touchdowns in a single game this season. He did so in Week 9 against the New England Patriots, earning praise from All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

“You’re a star, keep being a star,” Diggs said after the game.

Robinson expects London to return to form sooner rather than later.

“But I expect he’s [London] going to have a great week of practice and would anticipate him looking even better [than Sunday],” Robinson said Wednesday.

While Sunday’s return showed that London isn’t quite back to full speed, his own words, his elite talent and production are undeniable. Even with a slow start on Sunday, Zac Robinson knows that London is among the best of the best when it comes to pass catchers around the league, and he expects the receiver to showcase that once again soon.