Why Drake London could lead the NFL in catches
Yahoo Sports NFL analyst Nate Tice, fantasy analyst Matt Harmon and NFL writer Charles McDonald discuss the Falcons wide receiver's skill set, what makes him among the best in the league and why he could be in for a monster 2025 season. Hear the full conversation on 'Football 301' - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen.
View more
Video Transcript
I'm gonna actually start with my London discussion.
Advertisement
Uh, Matt, you had him at #9.
I am at number 7, but why bullish on Drake London and Charles, you said he lost the coin flip to bake the 10th spot, I believe.
So we'll call it the de facto number 11.
Uh, but Drake London, Matt, why are you bullsh on him in 2025?
I know you are a fan, but I want to hear, I want to hear more.
Man, fantastic player.
Um, you can throw him out there ex receiver and he has the press coverage ability and the ball skills to win there, even if he's not the fastest guy in a straight line.
He is so fluid underneath to beat pressman coverage, but this new Falcon staff last year did a great job like moving him around the formation, putting him in the slot, getting him off the line of scrimmage, and he just truly became like another tier of a weapon better because of that.
Advertisement
Um, just when yeah, whenever he was inside, like.
Just hit him on an end breaker again and again and again and again.
Um, I think he could, he could be a candidate to lead the NFL and catches, uh, if Michael Penix is, is the guy.
And I think Pennick probably stylistically is just not gonna lead to that type of, uh, that type of efficiency from his wide receiver, one in terms of Leading the NFL in catches.
But I think what we saw with Pennick when he was under center in the final three games, like, he's gonna unlock that area of Drake London's game where he's so good along the boundary.
He's so good on these like deep, deep outbreakers.
Advertisement
So, um, and he catches up, he sneaks up on you after the catch.
So yeah, I think Drake London's been playing.
At a level where he's like kind of knocking on that door of a top 10 receiver, and I think this is the year like consensus wise, he absolutely smashes through it.
I, I've been a fan of London since he came out and been a fan of him with whoever's calling plays there, even in the Arthur Smith offense and everything, he catches everything, and, and I just think that.
Yes, he's not this deep thread, he's not gonna take every throw to every catch to the house, but at his game, his box that he plays in, he's elite, like he is top tier ball skills, top tier contested catch guy, and it's not, again, it's not theory, he's doing it week in week out.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
44 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
The Steelers' odds don't move much, if at all, post-Aaron Rodgers
The Steelers have added quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The move hasn't added much to their betting odds for 2025. At DraftKings, the Steelers have dropped from a +4500 underdog to win the Super Bowl to +4000. While that reflects some movement, it still has them as 40-1 long shots to win their seventh Lombardi Trophy. Others sports books haven't changed the Super Bowl odds at all, post-Rodgers. Via Ben Fawkes of Yahoo Sports, the Steelers' odds remain 45-1 at BetMGM. The odds haven't changed because the Rodgers move has been expected. As noted by Fawkes, the Steelers opened at 80-1 to win the Super Bowl. Even with Rodgers, the Steelers remain decidedly below elite teams like the Bills (+700), the Ravens (+700), the Chiefs (+750), and the Bengals (+2000). Even the Chargers and Broncos — both at +2500 — are viewed as significantly better bets than the Steelers to win it all. One sports book executive summarized the situation in blunt terms. 'Rodgers has been awful,' Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook V.P. of risk Ed Salmons told Fawkes. 'Before he ruptured his Achilles, his last year in Green Bay he wasn't good. Since the [Achilles] injury, he can't move — he just dumps it off so he doesn't get hit. [Mason] Rudolph and Rodgers are the same thing for me.' Most would say the two aren't the same. The question is whether, with Rodgers, the Steelers become anything more than a team that gets to the postseason and might or might not win a playoff game for the first time in nine years.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Three Wisconsin Badgers appear on PFF's list of the NFL's top centers for 2025 season
Three Wisconsin Badgers appear on PFF's list of the NFL's top centers for 2025 season A trio of former Wisconsin Badgers landed on ProFootballFocus' list of the top 32 centers entering the 2025 NFL season. Captained by Super Bowl-winning center Creed Humphrey, PFF's hierarchy features former Badger standouts Joe Tippmann, Tyler Biadasz and Tanor Bortolini. Tippmann, who is entering his third campaign representing the New York Jets, landed at No. 11 on the ranking between Arizona Cardinal Hjalte Froholdt (No. 10) and Cleveland Brown Ethan Pocic (No. 12). The Fort Wayne, Indiana, native has started in 31 of 33 career games in New York, including all 17 games at center a season ago with four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers at the helm. The Jets, with building star Breece Hall and Badger alumnus Braelon Allen in the backfield, rushed 363 times for 1,561 yards and eight scores behind Tippmann in 2024. Here's PFF's analysis on how the 2022 Honorable mention All-Big Ten center stacks up this coming season: "Tippmann took a big step forward in his second NFL season, earning a top-10 PFF overall grade (73.4) among centers. He improved his figure by more than 10 points on the grading scale over his rookie campaign, which bodes well for his ability to continue his career progression at just 24 years old." Amherst, Wisconsin, product Tyler Biadasz was the second Badger on PFF's recent list at No. 15. The five-year NFL veteran and 2022 Pro Bowler made 49 starts across four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before suiting up in 15 games with the Washington Commanders during the 2024 slate. With rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels at the helm and both Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler in the backfield, Washington rushed for 2,619 yards and 25 scores in 2024, with Biadasz leading the blocking effort. Only the Eagles and Ravens totaled more yardage on the ground. Here's PFF's take on the veteran: "Biadasz, in his first year with the Commanders, started off the 2024 season on a high note. Through the first nine games, his 79.3 PFF pass-blocking grade charted as the second-highest mark at the position. While that momentum faded as the season went on, and as Biadasz dealt with injury and illness, he still managed to finish with solid marks as a run blocker and a pass protector." Fresh off his first season with the Indianapolis Colts, Tanor Bortolini earned the No. 30 designation on the annual ranking. The Wisconsin product started in five of 12 total appearances for the Colts, largely contributing due to injuries at the position. Nonetheless, PFF's staff did not ignore the impression he made. "With the injuries to Ryan Kelly this past season, it was Bortolini and veteran Danny Pinter who stepped in to shoulder the load. Both are expected to compete for the starting job this summer. Bortolini showed a bit more of a well-rounded game in his first year as a pro, albeit on a limited sample. He produced a 64.0-plus PFF grade as both a run blocker and a pass protector, which may bode well for his chances of taking control of the starting job in 2025." As of June 6, all three players are poised to start for their respective franchises this coming season. The Colts, Jets and Commanders all kick-start their 2025 seasons on Sept. 7. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Why Beyoncé and BET Keep Calling Jesse Collins
There's a memorable scene in Beyoncé's 'Homecoming' documentary about her headlining performance at Coachella in 2018, when she asks a production crew member for a 30-foot-wide camera track. He tells her it doesn't exist. She then proves him wrong. The Emmy-winning television producer Jesse Collins remembers that moment well, so when the pop superstar called on him to produce her Christmas Day N.F.L. halftime extravaganza 'Beyoncé Bowl' for Netflix, he was ready to meet her demands. 'Hell no, I will never tell her something doesn't exist unless it really doesn't exist,' he said recently with a laugh, 'because she'll Google it and she keeps up with technology. If it can't happen, I am 1,000 percent certain it can't happen.' Collins, 54, has worked closely with Beyoncé on awards show performances, including her raucous rendition of 'Freedom' at the 2016 BET Awards, when she danced and kicked in a shallow pool of water. 'The water was one of the most complicated things that I've ever done on any award show,' Collins recalled in a video interview from his office in Burbank, Calif., in a comfy black hoodie as the sun beamed behind him. 'Most people try to get away from water,' he said, but an executive had promised it. 'When you start the conversation with, 'This was promised to Beyoncé,' everybody's like, 'We're going to make this happen.'' Making things happen is Collins's specialty, and it's why heavyweights like Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z have recruited him for their projects. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
