Drake London (born July 24, 2001) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at USC and was selected eighth overall by the Falcons in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

Early years

London attended

Moorpark High School Moorpark High School is a comprehensive public secondary school located in the Mountain Meadows neighborhood of Moorpark, Ventura County, California, and serves students from grades 9 through 12. It is part of the Moorpark Unified School Distric ...

Moorpark, California Moorpark is a city in Ventura County in Southern California. Moorpark was founded in 1900. The town grew from just over 4,000 citizens in 1980 to over 25,000 by 1990. As of 2006, Moorpark was one of the fastest-growing cities in Ventura County.. ...

. He played football and basketball in high school. As a senior on the football team, he had 62 receptions for 1,089 yards and 12

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

. As a senior in basketball he averaged 29.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. London committed to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(USC) to play both football and basketball.

College career

As a true freshman in football, London started nine of 13 games, recording 39 receptions for 567 yards and five touchdowns. As a freshman in basketball, he played in three games and had three rebounds. He returned to the football team as a sophomore in 2020 as one of the team's top receivers. London was named the

Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year Coaches of the Pac-12 Conference bestow the following awards at the end of each football season. The conference was founded in its current form as the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959, but traces its roots to the Pacific Coast ...

in 2021. During Southern Cal's eighth game of the 2021 season, London fractured his right ankle, forcing him to miss the rest of the year. London declared for the

following the season.

College statistics

Professional career

London was selected eight overall by the

in the

. He was the first wide receiver taken. London made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

where he had five receptions for 74 yards. In Week 2 against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

, London had a season-high eight receptions for 86 yards and recorded his first professional touchdown on a four-yard reception from

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted second overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota pl ...

. In Week 18 against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

, London recorded his first 100-yard receiving game in the NFL, having six receptions for 120 yards, including a season-long 40 yard reception, in the 30–17 win. London finished his rookie season with 72 receptions for 866 yards and four touchdowns. London's 72 catches set a new rookie reception record for the Falcons, surpassing the mark previously set by

Kyle Pitts Kyle Anthony Pitts (born October 6, 2000) is an American football tight end for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida, where he was named a unanimous All-American and won the John Mac ...

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioUSC Trojans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:London, Drake 2001 births Living people People from Moorpark, California Players of American football from Ventura County, California American football wide receivers USC Trojans football players USC Trojans men's basketball players Atlanta Falcons players Moorpark High School alumni