Atlanta Falcons hoping for positive Drake London news

After seeing their top receiver prospect suffer an injury in game one of pre-season, the Atlanta Falcons are hoping for some positive news. The Atlanta Falcons will be hoping that Drake London, the eighth overall pick in the 2022 Draft, will be fine to play in their next pre-season game after he suffered an unspecified injury in their opening tilt against the Detroit Lions.

The Falcons came away 27-23 victors over the Lions, but the real focus around the team is the health status of London – who hauled in an impressive 24-yard catch from starting quarterback Marcus Mariota in his NFL debut but played no further part in the game.

He was seen walking along the sideline after suffering the injury, so the initial hope for the Falcons is that he will be okay and that he will not miss much time, if any at all, beyond the rest of their opening pre-season game.

The Atlanta Falcons need a strong showing from their receiving corps this season, with London expected to be a starter on a team that has the likes of Olamide Zaccheaus and Bryan Edwards penned in alongside him.

They also have versatile weapon Cordarrelle Patterson, who is effective in the passing game as well as the running game and picked up 548 yards and five touchdowns through the air in 2021.

The team has Pro Bowl tight end Kyle Pitts, who had a breakout rookie campaign with 1024 receiving yards, but just one touchdown and they addressed one of their biggest needs by selecting London so early in the most recent draft.

London had a strong college career at USC, breaking out in his junior year with 1084 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, taking his totals to 2153 and 15 as a three-year starter, and the hope will be that he can have the same kind of impact for the Falcons as players such as Julio Jones did right out of the gate.

Atlanta also landed a player they hope might develop into their franchise quarterback of the future when they selected Desmond Ridder out of the University of Cincinnati and building plenty of weapons on offense should help the team grow over the next few seasons.

Until it’s determined whether or not Ridder is truly an NFL quarterback, Mariota, taken second overall in the 2015 Draft, will be under center and already showed a flash of chemistry with his new top wideout on the first quarter play.

Having London fit and ready for the season opener against the New Orleans Saints will be a top priority for second-year head coach Arthur Smith, who will be keen to have the very best roster available to him right from the get-go.

If there’s any hint of possible re-injury or something that could keep the 6-foot-5, 210lbs receiver out longer, then it’s unlikely we will see much of him during the rest of pre-season – if at all.

London was not expected to feature much in the opener, so to see him withdrawn even earlier with an injury concern will be troubling for all involved with the team, but if the early belief that he will be okay, and the withdrawal was simply precautionary, then everyone will breathe a long sigh of relief.