Fantasy Upside
Drake London's sophomore output (139.9 half-PPR points, WR39) was right in line with his rookie season (142.6 points, WR35), but he continued to show flashes of greatness, including his overall WR2 performance in Week 14 (10-172 on 11 targets). Just as it was back in 2022, the quarterback situation was the biggest problem. Falcons QBs combined for the fourth-lowest on-target rate (68.6%), mimicking their exact finish the previous year. That issue has been more than solved this offseason, with the signing of Kirk Cousins and the selection of Michael Penix Jr. as the eighth overall pick in the NFL Draft. There's also an OC switch to Zac Robinson, which will create more volume for the Falcons' WR1. London's 108 targets last season ranked 30th among the league's pass catchers.
Fantasy Downside
The upgrade at quarterback is unquestionable, but how much of an upgrade is at least worth considering. Cousins is heading into his Age 36 season, coming off of an Achilles tear, while Penix was widely considered the biggest reach of the Draft. London is going in a very murky area of fantasy drafts, where you will need to spend a second-round pick on a third-year receiver who has yet to consistently prove he's capable of giving us a fantasy ceiling. While a breakout is more than possible, it's arguably going to have to be a major one for us to consider him a reasonable top-10 WR.
2024 Bottom Line
Drake London's fantasy stock has skyrocketed since the signing of Kirk Cousins, and while it's understandable, he doesn't profile as a fantasy option who is going to single-handedly win us weeks. Which is what we need if we're taking wide receivers at his current draft cost. London has been one of the league's worst yards-after-catch options through his first two seasons, and while Cousins/Penix should provide him more accurate deep shots and red zone targets, it might not be enough to pull him out of "decent WR2" range.
