Can Drake London Take Another Step in Fantasy Football With Michael Penix Jr.?

There was a decent amount of hype surrounding Drake London ahead of the 2024 NFL season due to the arrival of Kirk Cousins, and while Cousins didn't perform particularly well, London put together the best year of his career. After finishing no better than WR36 in half-PPR formats in fantasy football in 2022 and 2023, London jumped all the way up to WR5 a season ago.

The final three weeks of the 2024 season does provide some optimism for London entering the 2025 campaign due to Michael Penix Jr. being named the starting signal-caller for the Atlanta Falcons during that span. Penix is slated to be the Week 1 starter for the Falcons in the upcoming season, so the hope is that London can carry over the success he experienced to conclude last season.

With London being the part of plenty of discussions among fantasy football circles this offseason, let's dive into his 2024 stats and discuss what his outlook is with Penix targeting him in 2025.

Drake London's 2024 Stats

Volume and talent has never been an issue for London in his career, but getting some consistency at quarterback helped London put up career-best marks across the board in 2024. Although Cousins had a forgettable year and Penix was a rookie who got only three starts, London exploded for 100 receptions, 1,271 receiving yards, and 9 receiving touchdowns on 158 targets.

Among wideouts with 75-plus targets last season, London tallied the 9th-most yards per route run (2.32) on the 24th-highest average depth of target (11.2), via PFF. What really aided London was the fact he was the go-to option for the Falcons in the red zone as the former first-round pick led all pass catchers in red-zone target rate (42.1%), which accounted for six of his nine touchdowns, per Pro Football Reference.

Under first-year offensive coordinator Zac Robinson last season, we finally saw London be moved around a bit where he wasn't just stuck playing out wide, logging a career-high 39.0% slot rate. Given London's improved usage and red-zone role, what should we expect him to do with Penix as the full-time starter?

Drake London's Fantasy Outlook With Michael Penix Jr.

Across the 14 games with Cousins under center (Week 1-15) in 2024, London was the overall WR8 and WR19 in half-PPR points per game during that span. Even though it was just a three-game sample of Penix starting (Week 16-18), London was the overall WR1 and WR1 in half-PPR points per game in large part due to a massive 35.7-point output in Week 18.

Throughout the three games catching passes from Penix, London totaled a stellar 22 receptions, 352 receiving yards, and 2 receiving touchdowns on an insane 39 targets. Of the players with 10-plus targets in the final three weeks of last season, London earned the 10th-most yards per reception (16.0) and 3rd-most yards per route run (3.52).

What makes London even more enticing in fantasy football with Penix is the fact that the second-year quarterback is more willing -- and capable -- of pushing the ball down the field than Cousins. Cousins was 20th in intended air yards per passing attempt (7.5) in 2024 while Penix posted 10.1 intended air yards per passing attempt in his three starts, which would have been good enough for 2nd among starting quarterbacks if it qualified.

Despite London finishing as the WR5 in 2024, he currently carries an ADP (average draft position) of 15.5 (WR9), according to FantasyPros' Consensus ADP, making him one of my favorite targets in the second round of drafts.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.