Drake London keeps stacking proof that he belongs among the NFL’s best young receivers, and his peers just backed that up in a big way.
The Falcons wideout shot up 31 spots to No. 66 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026 list, a climb that says plenty about how the league views him after another strong season. For Atlanta, it’s another reminder that the No. 8 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft has become one of the most reliable targets in football, even while the quarterback situation around him has been anything but steady.
Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke and Michael Penix Jr. have all taken turns throwing him the ball, but London has kept producing no matter who is under center. He has finished with at least 65 receptions and 850 receiving yards in each of his first four seasons, a run of consistency that has made him a fixture in Atlanta’s offense.
The 2025 season looked like it might be his breakout even further. London was putting together arguably the best year of his career before a knee injury in Week 11 ended his regular season early.
He missed the final five games, but still wrapped up with the second-highest receiving yardage and touchdown total of his career. That production had him in the mix for what many believed would have been his first Pro Bowl nod.
Atlanta made sure to reward that kind of impact. Earlier this offseason, the Falcons signed London to a four-year, $141 million contract extension, locking in one of the team’s core pieces for the long haul.
Inside the building, the praise has been steady. Falcons coaches have repeatedly pointed to his work ethic, toughness and leadership, traits that have helped shape him into one of the league’s premier young receivers. At 6-foot-4, London brings size, dependable hands and the kind of contested-catch ability that makes life miserable for defensive backs.
The new ranking also hints at where the league thinks this is headed. London moved from No. 97 to No. 66, and that kind of jump doesn’t happen by accident. It reflects a player who has kept climbing and, according to his peers, still has more room to go.
With more stability at quarterback and a fresh long-term deal in hand, London heads into 2026 with bigger expectations than ever. If he stays healthy, the first Pro Bowl selection of his career feels like a real possibility, and so does another step forward for a Falcons offense trying to keep moving up in the NFC.
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For Atlanta, the appeal of Tagovailoa is clear enough. CBS Sports projects him for 17 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 2,100 yards in 2026, a line that reflects both his experience and the belief that he can settle into the Falcons offense quickly. Even so, the bigger issue is not just who starts, but whether the team can finally find some long-term clarity at the most important position on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Camp Will Decide Which Young Players Are Running Out Of Time
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Cash Jones and Ethan Onianwa are both in that prove-it category, with camp offering a chance to show they belong as the depth chart gets sorted out at running back and tackle. Bralen Trice is in an even more precarious spot, because the Falcons still need to see something meaningful from him before the roster picture tightens, and time is becoming a bigger part of the story as camp opens. [Read more 🡒]
