Falcons fans got a glimpse of what could be in their preseason opener as Marcus Mariota connected with Drake London for a 23-yard completion, but a glimpse is all they’d get. The 8th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft left the field with a knee injury and hasn’t been at practice since.
Head coach Arthur Smith was noncommittal on London’s status for week one’s matchup with the Saints, saying that while the team feels good about where he’s at, he wouldn’t make a prediction on his availability.
Regardless of whether he steps on the field at Mercedes Benz Stadium on September 11, Steak Shapiro argued that missing nearly the entire preseason doesn’t bode well for London’s rookie campaign.
“The Drake London situation, I don’t know how we can’t be concerned,” he said. “And this is the thing with the NFL, and this is the thing from season to season, you make all these bold proclamations and you break down who we're playing this year and you look at ‘this guy should be this.’ Drake London was injured on [his first catch] of the preseason. You think it’s a good thing that a rookie that’s never played a down in the NFL that now hasn’t seen a snap?”
On 92.9 The Game’s The Steakhouse, Shapiro went on to say that the adjustment to the NFL can be a challenge for rookie wide receivers not named Ja'marr Chase or Justin Jefferson and that if the Falcons hope to surprise people this season, London needs to develop quickly.
“For them to be in it in November, everything has to fall into place and what doesn’t fall into place is having your unbelievably high draft pick—one of the highest you’ve ever taken a WR—not be able to be healthy for now going on a couple of weeks…That just starts behind the eight ball,” he said.
London was a dominant force at USC, racking up 1,084 yards and 7 touchdowns on 88 catches in just 8 games during his final season before going down with a broken ankle.
