Drake London is finally getting the respect he deserves in wide receiver rankings

From a national media perspective, nearly all the Falcons talk centers on Bijan Robinson.

And it’s hard to blame them. Robinson is far and away the best running back in the league — a player with zero weaknesses in his game who, as long as he stays healthy, will go down as one of the greatest ever at the position. The Falcons’ offense runs through their star back. But none of it works without the versatile threat of Drake London in the passing game.

London, like Robinson, is the embodiment of everything the Falcons want their culture to be. He’s spent his entire career in Atlanta while the franchise played musical chairs at quarterback, yet you’d never know it from the way he plays in every phase of the game. And the numbers are staggering.

Two years ago, London finished fourth in the NFL in receiving yards, and he was on pace to top that last season before an injury limited him to 12 games. He still finished just shy of 1,000 yards — 25th in the league, ahead of names like D.K. Metcalf, Jaylen Waddle, Tee Higgins, and Davante Adams, all of whom played at least three more games than he did.

But 2026 is shaping up to be his best work yet. Through five games, he’s already approaching 500 receiving yards, good for fourth in the league — and it’s even more impressive considering two of those came with Cooper Rush under center, who throttled the entire passing attack. In the three games Penix has started, London is averaging over 135 yards. It’s completely fair to say that if Penix had been healthy from the jump, London would be leading the NFL in receiving, and it wouldn’t be close.

You can go up and down the league and find tons of fantastic receivers. But try to build a list of guys who’ve strung together a three-year run like London’s since the start of 2024, and it’s damn near impossible. He’s establishing himself as a top-five wideout in the game, and Pro Football Focus has taken note, ranking him the second-best receiver in the league behind only Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

“London had another strong showing in the Sunday Night Football loss to the Baltimore Ravens, hauling in seven of 10 targets for 118 yards,” Gordon McGuinness writes. “He ranks fourth at the position with a 91.0 PFF receiving grade and third in yards per route run (3.70), trailing only Smith-Njigba and Flowers.”

Drake London might not be the fastest receiver on the field. He’s liable to get run down by just about anybody in the secondary, even with a 10-yard head start. He doesn’t have a reel of one-handed grabs going viral on social media. But when it comes to getting open? Good luck. He’s a maestro at his craft, and if the Falcons ever find stability at quarterback, the numbers are going to be absurd.

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Photo: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire