Drake London’s jaw-dropping grab at joint practice was the kind of play that stops everyone in the building for a beat.
On Wednesday, Aug. 19, the Falcons wideout hauled in a Julio Jones-style catch over Colts cornerback Justin Walley during the opening joint practice between Atlanta and Indianapolis. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa put the ball up for the 6-foot-4 receiver, London went skyward to bring it down, and then punctuated the moment by punting the ball into the air in celebration.
The clip took off fast, drawing nearly 55,000 likes and more than 29,000 shares on the Falcons’ official Instagram page.
On Thursday, Aug. 20, Kevin Stefanski was asked about the viral play in Indianapolis and didn’t need much time to appreciate it.
“Pretty good catch,” Stefanski told reporters in Indianapolis on Thursday, Aug. 20.
“That’s his ability to just play the football in the air, body control, obviously strong hands. So that was a great catch.”
Stefanski also pointed to what makes London such a tough cover in those situations: the way his game translates above the rim.
“I think Drake’s skillset, he can do many things, and one of the things he can do is elevate to get the football or be able to play it,” Stefanski said. “With his background in basketball, just his body control is elite. So understanding how Drake wins, where he wants the football, there’s a lot of conversation that happens between the players in this case, which I think is also valuable.”
That basketball background has been part of London’s story for a while. At Moorpark High School in California, he was a three-star basketball prospect who averaged 29.2 points and 11.9 rebounds as a shooting guard. That dual-sport talent earned him a chance to play football at USC and also join the basketball team as a technical walk-on.
London played both sports as a freshman at USC, then stepped away from basketball midway through the 2019-2020 season to focus entirely on football. The move paid off when Atlanta took him with the eighth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Since then, London has grown into one of the league’s top receivers. His peers ranked him 66th among NFL players ahead of the 2026 season, and in June the Falcons locked him in on a four-year, $141 million contract.
Atlanta, which is 0-1, heads to Indianapolis for Week 2 of the preseason on Saturday, Aug. 22.
The Colts are 0-0-1. Kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium is set for 1 p.m. and will air locally in Atlanta on FOX 5.
London likely won’t play, with Stefanski planning to rest his starters.
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