Drake London felt like one of the biggest victims of the ineptitude we saw from both the head coach and quarterbacks we’ve seen from the Atlanta Falcons in recent years. Fortunately, help is on the way in the form of a new coaching staff and a significant upgrade under center entering the 2024 NFL season.
Can fantasy football managers expect a career year from London entering his third season in the league?
Drake London’s 2024 Fantasy Outlook
- Total Fantasy Points: 292.8
- Receptions: 116.1
- Receiving Yards: 1,459.5
- Receiving TDs: 4.9
These are PFN’s consensus projections, correct as of August 15. The most up-to-date projections can be found in our Who Should I Draft Tool.
Should You Draft London This Year?
On the surface, London is being projected far above the fantasy floor we’ve seen from him through his first two years in the NFL.
London’s Fantasy Production
- 2023: 69 receptions, 905 yards, and two TDs (WR37 overall)
- 2022: 72 receptions, 866 yards, and four TDs (WR31 overall)
There is no disputing that London has flashed some great playmaking ability in a putrid passing offense early in his career. But when you compare his production to a player selected in the same draft in a similarly awful fantasy situation — Garrett Wilson — then you realize fantasy managers are making a bigger leap of faith with London than pretty much any other player in fantasy football entering the 2024 season.
What is the reason for this optimism?
For starters, Arthur Smith is gone, which is objectively a great thing for the Falcons’ offense after finishing 26th in the league with just 18.9 points per game last year. Atlanta mustered little offense despite first-round playmakers like London, Bijan Robinson, and Kyle Pitts on the roster.
Second, the move to Zac Robinson as the offensive coordinator, who previously worked under Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, brings a scheme that has helped players like Cooper Kupp and Justin Jefferson produce WR1 overall seasons in two of the last three years.
Lastly, Kirk Cousins should provide an immense upgrade under center from the likes of Desmond Ridder and Marcus Mariota since London entered the league.
Quite frankly, all of these factors are very plausible reasons to project an aggressive jump in production for London in 2024. Yet, there are some concerns with projecting him for 112 receptions and 1,414 yards this year.
The success we saw from Kupp and Jefferson in 2021 and 2022, respectively, comes from a different skill set than he possesses. Both Kupp and Jefferson are amongst the NFL’s best route runners and can deconstruct opposing defenses all over the formation on all three levels of the football field.
It’s not that London can’t be effective from the slot. But he has traditionally been far more effective operating on the outside in the mold of a player like Mike Evans. For that reason, I am a bit skeptical about London assuming this role in a copycat fashion.
Ultimately, better quarterback play should increase production significantly. I’m just not sure if that jump will reach low-end WR1 territory in 2024.
London’s ADP in the third round as the WR10 off the board is an aggressive projection considering his overall production thus far.
The logic is quite similar to Wilson regarding the upgrade at quarterback and uptick in offensive production that comes with better play under center. Yet, going ahead of Chris Olave and Michael Pittman Jr. feels a bit aggressive.
If you want London on your team, you’ll likely have to invest second-round draft capital. The upside is certainly present but potentially comes with more risk than other options available in this range.
