PROFILE
Drake London
4-Star 
6’5″ 210 lbs
High School: Moorpark
Hometown: Moorpark, CA
Commitment School: USC
Career Stats: 216 targets / 160 rec / 2,153 yards / 15 TDs / 13.5 yards/rec
BACKGROUND
Drake London hails from Moorpark, California, where he attended Moorpark high school. According to usctrojans.com, London played basketball and football while in high school.
London averaged 19.8 points per game and just over 11 rebounds as a junior playing basketball. He averaged 29.2 points and just under 12 rebounds per game as a senior.
He produced 51 catches for 1,032 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior playing football and had 62 receptions for 1,089 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior. He made the 2018 All-PrepStar All-American team and was the All-Camino League Co-Wide Receiver of the Year.
247sports labeled London a compromise 4-star and the 35th ranked receiver in the 2019 recruit class. He held 20 offers that included Notre Dame, Oregon, and Pittsburgh. London committed to USC in June 2018.
In his freshman season, London started in nine of 13 games. He played 97% of the time from the slot and accumulated 567 yards and five touchdowns while playing alongside Michael Pittman Jr, Tyler Vaughns, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. He also played basketball while at USC.
London started all six games in the pandemic-riddled season of 2020, gaining almost the same stat line in six games he did in 13 in 2019 with 33 receptions for 502 yards and three touchdowns. London played 91% of the time from the slot and officially had a 22% dominator rating breakout season.
In 2021, London took his game to a whole new level showing complete dominance weekly. He only had two games in which he posted less than 130 yards per game. London played near exclusively on the outside left, a new alignment for him, and he showed no trouble with that transition.
He saw 119 targets and went over 1,000 yards receiving in just eight games. Unfortunately, his season was cut short after fracturing his right ankle against Arizona in week nine.
SCOUTING REPORT
Where he wins:
Athletic Ability – Displays solid quickness off the line of scrimmage, maximizing his long stride to eat into the defender’s cushion quickly in off-coverage. Solid agility to plant and go within his release, fairly sharp change of direction when separating at the top of his route, and outstanding balance when battling the sideline or working through contact.
Mental Processing – Before the snap, he does a solid job of diagnosing his opponent, understanding the defender’s stance to execute the proper release to manipulate the hips and feet of his opponent. While in route, London knows how to tempo his speed to implement his break or change of direction with the correct timing. He is excellent at attacking the voids of Zone coverage and positioning himself as an open target. London sells the vertical route very well with his eyes and shoulders, executing a sharp plant with a low center of gravity to quickly turn 180 degrees back to the ball. London executes a quick change of direction route such as an out with smooth transition out of his break.
Competitive Toughness – Highly competitive in every aspect of the game. He plays to the defender’s weakness as a blocker and powers his hands into the defender’s shoulders, using his long frame to body the defender out of the play. London plays at the same high-level speed and tenacity from snap to finish. On plays where he is blocking, he releases the same as if he knows he is receiving the ball. London never lacks effort and doesn’t allow mistakes to impact his mental stability. On important plays, he stays mentally tough and plays to his full potential.
Play Strength – Highly functional as a physical receiver in contested situations. He shows excellent vertical execution to get above or around the defender and catch the ball, whether taking on impact or extending outside his frame to secure the catch. He caught 19 of 28 contested passes in 2021. He fights through his route stem, not allowing defenders to invade his path and alter his timing. Physical at the line of scrimmage to beat Press with hand fighting, arm swipes, and frame use. As discussed, physical as a blocker but does get caught up being over-aggressive and misjudging his blocking angle.
Release – Uses a variety of release moves, such as a single and double move. Adds in secondary release moves like short strides and foot-fire to execute his release point. London does a great job of maintaining leverage and doesn’t allow defenders to interrupt his timing. Uses hand fighting when necessary. He is sometimes late to add swim and rip moves as he could execute those earlier to be more effective. London can beat out good NFL starting competition in soft-press and solid NFL competition facing Press and the jam.
Hands – Shows good hand/eye coordination to make even the most difficult catches. He knows how to frame up to meet the ball for the best possibility to secure the catch. Capable of one-hands grabs as seen against Colorado for a touchdown. Did have some concentration drops this season but nothing that concerns his ability as a reliable pass catcher. London does an excellent job of tracking the ball and extending outside his frame to secure the ball.
Separation Quickness – London shows good ability to create separation at the top of his route through a combination of route stemming, eye manipulation, and play strength. He can use his long frame and basketball skills to box out defenders. He executes good hand fighting throughout his route to fight for position and separate with long arms to swim and rip through coverage. Agility is limited but shows enough ankle flexion to quickly shift his path while body language locks the defender’s hips to get open. Could struggle against upper-tier NFL athletes who excel in Man-coverage but will have the advantage against shorter defenders on the outside in contested situations.
Adjustment/Body Control – This is one area in that London is well above-average. He is in his element and when making above the waistline, adjustments in the air to secure the catch. Displays the upper-body flexibility to make impressive mid-air adjustments to the ball. Adjustments to low-thrown balls are more challenging, but he shows the effort to adjust to the shoestring. London maintains very good body control along the sideline and in contested situations. He has the fundamentals to be an outstanding receiver to catch in traffic and contested situations against most NFL competition.
Yards After the Catch (YAC) – What London lacks in explosiveness, he makes up for with competitiveness and play strength. He does possess enough quickness and burst to get past average athletes but uses his length and frame to fight for extra yards against all athletes on defense. His ability to show spatial awareness and navigate a path once he has the ball in his hands is an underrated aspect of his game. If used in the slot, he will be highly effective, gaining yards after the catch. As an outside receiver, he will struggle a bit to get yards after the catch unless facing cover 2; he will have more opportunity to execute his long strides and gain additional yards in space.
Where he needs to improve:
Play Speed – At the snap, London displays solid knowledge of how to manage his route stem in terms of patience and quickness to get past the defender within the first 5 yards. He possesses solid play speed as his eyes and feet have synergy when making quick decisions at the point of his route break. His speed to beat defenders with straight, long speed is solid. His speed is good enough to keep him ahead of solid level competition he faces, but he may struggle to beat above-average NFL defenders in a foot race throughout his vertical stem. He will need to rely on winning at the line of scrimmage when looking to stack a defender.
ANALYTICAL BREAKDOWN
CAREER STATS
* WEIGHTED DOMINATOR RATING (Article coming) – Adjusted dominator rating that prioritizes yards over touchdowns and includes receptions in a ratio of 25:50:25.
* *Some stats come from PFF
BEST CAREER ANALYTICAL GRADES:
Dominator Rating: 34.99%
Weighted Dominator Rating: 33.95%
Yards Per Team Pass Attempt: 2.03
Yards Per Route Run: 2.32
Yards Per Reception: 13.5
Receptions in a Season: 88
QB Rating when targeted: 115
Multi-Sport Athlete: Basketball
Breakout Age: 19
Drops: 10 (5.9% drop rate)
WORST CAREER ANALYTICAL GRADES:
Career aDOT: 9.7
Kick /Punt Returns: No
BMI: 24.9
STAR PROJECTION
– Day 1 Projection
– Day 2 Projection
– Early Day 3 Projection
– Late Day 3 Projection
– UDFA
DRAFT CAPITAL AND FANTASY OUTLOOK
London has a dual-sport background that translates well for a receiver to the NFL level. In 2020, he played mainly from the slot, whereas in 2021, he played outside 83% of the time. He played nearly predominantly on the left side, so that is something to monitor if he plays on the right at the next level.
Overall, London has the skillset to be a starting X receiver or big slot on day one. He will need some time to learn how to manage quick-twitch NFL-level defenders in man coverage, so he may not peak until year three but will be a reliable fantasy option starting his rookie year. London should be considered a WR2 with WR1 upside once he completes his development.
