The 2022 fantasy football season is truly underway as drafts fire off across the nation, meaning now is the time to dive into Atlanta Falcons WR Drake London’s ADP to determine whether or not managers are receiving a value in fantasy drafts. Can London continue the trend of transcendent rookie wide receivers, or will a potentially stagnant Falcons offense hold him back in 2022?
Drake London ADP | Is he worth his current price in fantasy drafts?
As we draw closer to the prime draft season for fantasy football, London currently has an ADP of 96, coming off the board as the WR41. For comparison, he is going around 12 picks later than RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson (ADP 78).
In PFN’s 2022 fantasy football redraft rankings, London is currently the WR26 with an ADP of 64, showing a more bullish outlook on the former USC standout. However, be sure to check back as rankings will fluctuate between now and the start of the season.
That is quite a discrepancy in both ranking and ADP. I can understand an unwillingness to trust London, but more so Atlanta’s offense. However, I disagree with this line of thinking. London is an elite prospect. Sure, not to the level of Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase in recent years, but he can and likely will be special. In my current rankings, he is not only the highest-ranked rookie receiver but is currently my WR34 overall, placing him as a low-end WR3 to start the season.
I do not expect London to stay in this range, though. While everyone and their mother seemingly tried to call him a “contested-catch receiver,” London is far more well-rounded. He is a legitimate weapon and is the runaway WR1 for the Falcons.
While Arthur Smith will want to establish the run with his DNA going back to his time in Tennessee, this roster likely is not talented enough to pull it off. With a high likelihood of being one of the least competitive teams in 2022, expect a ton of garbage time. That’s music to a fantasy manager’s ears.
History suggests London should be busy in 2022
If you look back at recent history, of the 12 receivers selected inside the top 10 of the NFL draft since 2012, all seven who missed three or fewer games saw over 100 targets. Three of those came last year with Chase (128), Jaylen Waddle (140), and DeVonta Smith (104). The others are Amari Cooper (130), Sammy Watkins (128), Mike Evans (122), and Justin Blackmon (132).
London has 125+ target upside in 2022. The efficiency of those targets is what is up for debate. Even on poor offenses, they can produce high-level fantasy assets. London has all the talent in the world to take advantage of his new role, and it wouldn’t shock me to see him inside the WR2 range by the time the season wraps up. View London as a low-risk, high-upside mid-round pick for fantasy football in 2022.
Drake London’s projected fantasy value in 2022
London is 6’4″, 215 pounds of alpha mentality. The comparisons to Vincent Jackson, Brandon Marshall, and Mike Evans aren’t without merit. Accounting for 27.7% of USC’s receiving share, London was as good as college football had to offer last year.
While a right ankle injury ended his season early after eight games, London made such an impact that he was still voted Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year. London recorded 88 receptions for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns. He had over 130 yards and a TD in five of his eight contests.
London’s not just a deep threat. When you dive deeper into his targets by aDOT (average depth of target), this becomes evident. While 23 of his targets in 2021 did come with an aDOT of 20 yards or more, 77 of the 119 total came either behind the LOS or on short passes (0-9 yards). That’s not the stat line of a “contested-catch” receiver.
During training camp, there has been no escaping the highlights from London with either Marcus Mariota or Desmond Ridder. That’s a good thing as they desperately need playmakers.
Kyle Pitts and Patterson filled that role last year and are expected to see success again in 2022. With that said, London has the highest upside. Even higher than Pitts, in my opinion, despite being the TE3 currently.
With all of this said, London’s fantasy upside, regardless of ADP, comes down to the play of Mariota or Ridder if we see a midseason change at QB. That rarely is a good thing, as that tends to suggest an offense has struggled to maintain drives or score points in the red zone.
Mariota did look solid when filling in for Derek Carr, but can he do the same in Atlanta behind one of the worst offensive lines? We won’t know until the whistle blows. Given his size, route running, and ability to separate, London could be hyper-targeted regardless of who is under center. Even if he lags in touchdowns to his peers, the volume should help to make up for it to some extent.