Drake London

London mostly looked the part of an eighth overall pick in his first two NFL seasons, mixing flashes of brilliance with stretches of poor production in a run-heavy Atlanta offense that had some of the worst QB play in the league. He enters Year 3 as one of the most obvious candidates for a big breakout, after the Falcons fired coach Arthur Smith and signed 35-year-old QB Kirk Cousins to a four-year contract. London did take small steps backward between Year 1 and 2 in terms of target share (29.1 percent to 23.1) and per-route production (2.04 to 1.90), but with his catch rate staying right around 62 percent and his yards per catch rising from 12.0 to 13.1. Forty-three WRs ran more routes than his 493 last year, so volume growth alone would be enough to push him well over 1,000 yards. There's also potential for efficiency improvement, of course, with London turning 23 this summer and finally paired with a quality QB. New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is a bit of an unknown given that he's never called plays before, but he at least figures to favor the passing game and three-wide formations far more than Smith ever did, having spent the past five years under Sean McVay in Los Angeles. London's stiffest target competition comes from other positions, with TE Kyle Pitts and RB Bijan Robinson also sure to be big parts of the offense, while free-agent addition Darnell Mooney is the Falcons' only other WR that has any track record of earning significant targets.

London might not go ahead of Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson if there were a 2022 redraft, but the eighth overall pick showed plenty of signs of his bright future amidst an uneven rookie season. The USC product opened with 214 yards and two TDs his first three weeks before settling into a prolonged slump in an extremely run-heavy offense. London then picked it back up in December to average 6.2 catches and 85.6 yards over his final five games while primarily catching passes from fellow rookie Desmond Ridder, who reportedly will enter 2023 as the starter ahead of offseason addition Taylor Heinicke. Coach Arthur Smith still figures to emphasize the run first and foremost, especially after drafting Bijan Robinson eighth overall this spring, but London saw a massive 29.3 percent target share last season (117 of 400 team targets) and could own a similar portion of the passing game with only TE Kyle Pitts representing serious competition. Also consider that London turns 22 in July, making him the same age as a lot of rookies but with an 866-yard NFL season to his name already.

Isn't it convenient when the team most in need of a wide receiver is the first to pick one in the draft? So it went for London, a three-year starter at USC who averaged 43.6 yards per game as a true freshman, 83.7 as a sophomore and 135.5 as a junior. He went eighth overall to Atlanta, despite missing the final four games last year - plus predraft workouts - after fracturing his ankle in October. It may have been a blessing in disguise, considering the 40-yard dash and other combine drills were never likely to be the strength of London's prospect profile. What he does bring to the table is production, size (6-4, 219) and youth (he turned 22 in July), and he landed with a team where the other candidates for WR snaps are an uninspired mix of journeymen and undrafted guys. The Falcons do have last year's first-rounder, Kyle Pitts, the 21- year-old tight end who eclipsed 1,000 yards as a rookie. They're seemingly counting on London to have a similar immediate impact, though even the success of Pitts' debut campaign illustrates a big part of the downside, as the young tight end scored only one TD on 68 catches. The Atlanta offense isn't likely to get much better with Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder replacing Matt Ryan at QB, unless both Pitts and London prove to be bonafide, ready-made superstars.