Drake London was the eighth overall pick in 2022, and fantasy football managers were excited about what his upside could be after clearing 1,000 yards in his final season at USC. While we have seen glimpses of the talent that had us drooling at that 2022 NFL Draft, the fantasy value of the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver has yet to take off the way we had hoped. Is that going to change moving forward?
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Drake London’s Struggles
Taylor Swift showed up to a Chiefs game, and Travis Kelce’s notoriety spiked. Not that anyone is on the level of Swift, but London’s first name might be owned by the male equivalent — and yet, nothing.
London has been held under 35 receiving yards in three of four games this season and has caught just five of 13 targets over the past two weeks in this offense.
I’m not a fan of pointing the finger, but shame on you. On us. The quarterback is the most important position in the NFL, and we were far too optimistic about the fantasy potential of a 22-year-old without any stability under center and a stubborn head coach.
London was held under 50 yards in 10 games last season, and we thought a shift to Desmond Ridder was going to solve that?
*Desmond Ridder drops back to pass* pic.twitter.com/qeWQeEwDcn
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) October 1, 2023
The Falcons scored 13 points in a fourth-quarter comeback against the Green Bay Packers — they’ve scored 13 points in the two games since. Total. Until that changes, this sort of stat line (Week 4: seven targets, 28 yards) isn’t a struggle, it’s reality.
London’s Value Rest of Season
If you can sell a manager in your league by using the touchdown in London, you do it. Is a single play going to sell someone on chasing this profile? Unlikely, but you have nothing to lose by trying.
MORE: Calvin Ridley Fantasy — What To Do With the Jaguars’ WR Moving Forward?
As we stand here today, London is outside my top 35 at the position the rest of the way, and I’m not worried about him burning me. If you’re looking at the receiver ranks moving forward, here are some options I have ranked ahead of him:
- Elijah Moore
- Jordan Addison
- Quentin Johnston (and Josh Palmer, for now)
All is not lost. You could have DeAndre Hopkins, a big-name receiver who I actually have London ranked ahead of moving forward. Now isn’t a bad time to acquire London in dynasty formats, but in terms of redraft, the future doesn’t look much better than the past.