Draft Analysis: Drake London

January 12, 2022 /
  • Height: 6’5″
  • Weight: 210 lbs
  • College: USC
  • Tape watched: Notre Dame, Oregon State, Utah, Washington State, Stanford
  • NFL Comparison: Kenny Golladay

Pros

  • Catch Radius
    Drake London has elite range and body control in this draft. He is a genuine “leaper” and bullies people in the air. He is the best in-air, 50/50 receiver in the class.
London’s success ticket in the NFL on display.
  • RAC
    A very underrated runner with the football, London runs with force and never wastes time or yardage. He is definitive in finding creases in the defense and flying through them. He will be tough to bring down in the secondary, and picks up extra yards often.
  • Blocking
    Drake London has everything you want out of a wide receiver in the blocking game: effort, technique, and ability. He finds someone to block on every run play. He uses his size to his advantage, but never operates outside of his frame. He has a great drive and can be a punishing blocker at times.

Midline

  • Hands
    The more difficult of a catch, the better hands and ball skills that Drake London shows. He makes some of the most impressive 50/50 grabs one play, then the next he lets a football through his hands into his facemask for a drop. The tools are all evident, he just needs to be more consistent. This should be a legitimate question mark heading into the draft.
  • Route Running
    While stiff in the hips and lacking high level acceleration, Drake London shows promise in his route running. He knows what type of receiver he is, and he focuses on maximizing that potential. He is strong at leveraging position for the ball. He shows a high level of understanding of how to run deep routes without game-changing speed. He squares his head and shoulders nicely to cornerbacks before making cuts. He shields the ball well with his body in most cases. He may struggle with press coverage and short to intermediate area spaces where timing is crucial.
London does a terrific job of being patient with soft leverage on this fade. He leans on the corner and commits to getting back on his fade line and eventually draws the pass interference call. Using his 6’5″ frame to lean on corners is vital for success in the NFL.
Drake London shows patience waiting for the clearing route to set up in the defensive zone.

Cons

  • Route Tree
    Another victim of an RPO-heavy offense, London’s route tree falls short compared to a pro-style offense. London was used on heavy screen, slant, and fade/hitch routes. He was primarily an outside receiver, but did find time in the slot and motioned through the backfield. There were not many times he ran double moves or coverage based routes.
  • Separation
    Due to his lanky frame and long strides, London struggles to create separation. He does not possess enough lateral agility to break free in short and intermediate spaces. It appears he has average speed to stretch the field as well. Testing numbers will be big for London at the combine, where positive results will solidify his first round ticket. If the combine aligns with tape, he may slip to the second round.
Speed is a non-issue if London does this every Sunday.
  • Release
    London did not see a lot of action against press coverage in the games observed. When he did he showed nice patience, but an inability to move defenders off of their leverage. He projects well with his size and strength, but may need to refine and learn new techniques in the NFL.

Overview

London falls short of the first round hype he is receiving based on game film. An ankle injury in 2021 derailed a dominant season for London and adds an additional question mark heading into the draft. London is exceptional at tracking the football, making contested catches, and blocking. He shows average route running ability, questionable hands and concentration consistency, and poor separation. His upside is Mike Evans, his downside could be Eric Decker, which bodes well for a long successful career.