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The Atlanta Falcons are coming off an NFL Draft where most people are high on what they did, and the work doesn't stop there for them. The next step was to make sure their current key players are locked in for the long haul, and they made the necessary moves to do that with Drake London, according to Adam Schefter.
No surprise, but the Falcons exercised the fifth-year option on WR Drake London’s contract, per source,” Schefter wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The Falcons selected London with the No. 8 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and he has been the team's most consistent receiver since then. London had his best season last year, as he finished fourth in the league in receiving yards, ninth in receptions, and ninth in touchdowns. Last season made it his first year with over 1,000 yards and 100 receptions.
Exercising London's option was a no-brainer, and the next step is to work on a long-term deal with the receiver. He will be a key piece of the Falcons' offense, and he already showed some chemistry with Michael Penix Jr. in the last three games of last season. If they can continue to build on that, things could be looking up for the team.
Falcons continuing to build young core
The Falcons' offense has the building blocks of being a young, explosive core with Penix, London, Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and Tyler Allgeier. They showed signs of potential when Penix took over at the end of the season, and the hope is that they can build on that when this season starts.
Not only does the offense look promising, but the defense has some pieces to look forward to as well. In the first round of the draft, the Falcons double-dipped and selected Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., two pass rushers who have been known for getting to the quarterback. They also selected Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr., who will help in the secondary.
It was evident that the Falcons were close to getting over the hump and making the playoffs, but a midseason slump caused them to falter and lose control of the division. Kirk Cousins also had to be benched for his underwhelming play, and Penix had to step in faster than many people expected. Penix will now go into the season as the starting quarterback, and they'll be banking on him to continue to grow as he showed last year.
