In a talented 2022 NFL Draft wide receiver draft class that contains many different play styles at the position, USC’s 6’4″ 220 lb. Drake London is clearly the alpha “go up and get it” target in the group. London originally committed to USC to play both football and basketball, and his basketball background is evident on the gridiron. Despite suffering a season-ending injury to his ankle in 2021 which has forced him to miss all pre-draft testing, London is firmly in the mix to be the first receiver off the board and a top ten pick. Let’s dive into his tape to see why he’s such a highly-touted prospect!
Strengths: London is a physical specimen at the wide receiver position, possessing great size and length. These traits make him absolutely dominant at the catch point, where his great leaping ability, physicality, strength, locating of the football, concentration, and hands also make him thrive. London truly turns 50/50 balls into 80/20 balls in his favor, making him a great red-zone weapon. He excels at using his body to wall off defenders, which he actually does to two defenders in double coverage at times. His catch radius is outstanding, which he combines with great sideline awareness to tap his toes down in bounds after seriously extending to make the catch. London isn’t only a jump ball receiver though. He is a good athlete and flashes quick, sudden, and deceptive route running. He is developing a nice double move to get open in the deeper portions of the field. London is really reliable working the middle of the field, as he sets up defenders coming out of his release and uses his body to routinely present himself open to move the chains. He works this portion of the field fearlessly, consistently catching through contact. London is elite after the catch, rarely going down after the first tackle thanks to his lower-body strength and elite contact balance. His vision with the ball in his hands is really good too, and he does show some shiftiness as well. These traits make him dangerous on screens and jet sweeps. London excels working back to the quarterback, and can also make himself open late by clearing space with his strong, physical handwork. London is a great blocker, showing tremendous effort and strength to eliminate a defender from the play. Overall, he displays an aggressive, alpha mentality in every facet of the game. He is an intelligent player as well, excelling at finding soft spots in coverage and showing good instincts to uncover late when his quarterback is scrambling. Though he is primarily used on the perimeter, London offers versatility by being able to line up in the slot as well, where he offers an even bigger size advantage. London has proven to be capable of sustaining efficiency even with extremely high volume.
Weaknesses: London’s speed is no better than average, which limits him as a true deep threat. As a result, London is also not an elite separator. He is more than capable of gaining a crucial step or two of separation on his defensive back, but he rarely shakes man coverage to the point of being wide open. London’s route running is promising but inconsistent, as it is still too rounded at times. Additionally, he fades off routes a little too early at times, allowing the defensive back to squeeze him to the sideline. While his hands are natural and mostly reliable, London is not immune to drops, as he had two notable ones that bounced right off his hands in the four games that I’ve watched, including one against Stanford that resulted in an interception. London’s season ended in October due to a fractured ankle and his ultra-aggressive playing style especially after the catch will put his body at risk of injury more so than less physical receivers.
Bottom Line: London is a truly dominant receiver due to his incredible ability to win the ball in contested catch situations and his physical, tackle-breaking nature after the catch. London is anything but limited to jump balls though, as he does possess the quickness and flashes of route running to uncover from man coverage, especially at the intermediate level where he is highly effective working the middle of the field. That being said, London is not an elite separator and will not burn a cornerback with his speed. That isn’t his game though, and I believe London will thrive at the next level, becoming a quarterback’s trusted WR1 who excels at moving the chains and is one of the best receivers in the league in the red zone. His physical style concerns me a bit in regards to his durability, especially given the fractured ankle he suffered in October, but his fairly clean injury history as a whole mostly alleviates that concern and indicates it should not hold him back from NFL stardom.
Grade: 1.5 (mid-first-round grade)
Join fellow scout Alex Greb and I tonight at 8 p.m. ET live on the Bold Take Scouting YouTube Channel and East-West Football’s Twitter as we interview Samford wide receiver and 2022 NFL Draft prospect Montrell Washington, a high-testing sleeper at the position!
Sources
- Cover Image: https://usctrojans.com/news/2021/11/15/football-drake-london-named-semifinalist-for-biletnikoff-award.aspx
