2022 NFL Draft: Wide Receiver Deep Dive - Drake London
Drake London - USC
Overview:
Strengths:
2. Contested Catch - Standing 6'5" tall and super athletic, London can high point most passes over the heads of the defenders. He can still learn to leverage his positional advantage and guarantee the catch without making it look too acrobatic, but he is overall very good in contested catch situations.
3. Effort - London plays with a lot of heart. He does what ever he can to win, and will sacrifice his body for the good of the team.
Weaknesses:
1. Hands - Too many drops for comfort, but any receiver of his caliber should be able to correct this issue.
2. Separation - He simply cannot reliably gain outside separation at any level of the field.
3. Change of Direction - London cannot stop on a dime or flip his hips well enough to accelerate in a different direction easily. This is most apparent in his more rounded and less sudden routes, and a lack of shiftiness on his line release.
Grade: Early Second
While it may seem blasphemous not grading London as a first rounder, his inability to get separation on the outside is worrisome. He has the physical tools and athleticism to become a dominant receiver, but he is not polished enough to select over some of the other top options.
Film:
Washington State (09/18/2021): 13-170-2
Shifty for size, but not much separation. Simply taller than corners. Dropped an easy pass. Keeps moving underneath to maximize separation in zone. Not getting off of press that well despite decent looking line moves. Again, not sure hands. Great contested catch on zero separation (multiple times). Another drop... and another bounced off of his hands in a contested catch situation. Good block on linebacker. Hyper-targeted, but never "open." Good RAC and athleticism for size. Never really separates in man all game, especially from press.
Utah - (10/09/2021): 16-162-1
Missed block on Phillips (corner). Athletic and very physical. Seeks contact with the ball in his hands. Not impressed with blocking technique, but usually in the right place. Cannot create his own separation. Took five steps to turn around and accelerated mostly off of the sixth, despite sinking hips (Clip under Film Breakdown in A28). Started outside left almost all game.
Stanford - (09/11/2021): 4-68-1
Poor blocking technique, but big enough to get in the way. Tried to out-jump a corner in contested catch situation instead of using his body to leverage his already favorable position. Dropped potential touchdown. Another dropped pass leading to pick six. Great contested touchdown catch, although he could have made it look easier if he used his size advantage more intelligently. It is incredible how London almost never manages to get the slightest bit of separation.
Oregon - (12/18/2020): 8-75-0
Big slot primarily. Runs the same inside routes nearly all game. Extremely physical and athletic. May not be a RAC superstar, but he will always fight for each and every yard. Gets open on one play by running over the defender. Excellent contested catch, goes up and gets it first in intermediate routes against zone from the slot. Poor blocking technique.
UCLA - (12/12/2020): 5-97-2
Fine blocking this game. Great athleticism on the RAC. Incredible touchdown. Left wide open in the middle on a deep route from the slot. Five broken tackles after making a man miss for a 66 yard touchdown. Great block early third quarter. Always initiates contact to get the extra yard with the ball in his hands.
Film Breakdown
Next, London has three full yards of separation on first deceleration step because of the off coverage. The corner also has his momentum going away from London at this time. Because he decelerated on his right foot initially while not running full speed, he could try to plant his left foot and accelerate immediately off of his right again after turning over his right shoulder (very unlikely given his size, but an example clip of Cooper Kupp's three step comeback can be seen below). London also turned a slightly greater distance than 180 degrees, but three step turns can be done even on 270 degree turns with proper hip mobility.
Alternatively, London could have started his deceleration with his left foot, so he has an additional deceleration step before planting his left foot and accelerating back off of his right on the fourth step (Different route, but beautiful footwork by Justin Jefferson on a four step turn below).
Since London planted on his right foot first and does not want to turn his head towards the sideline, he has five steps to turn around. It is not optimal, but should not be detrimental if he uses those five steps properly to begin quickly accelerating the opposite direction. Unfortunately, there are two more areas that could have been improved. First, he spends too much time on his fouth step, or his pivot. Again, this is difficult to avoid because of his size, but it is still an indicator that he did not decelerate enough in his first three steps since he still had momentum carrying him downfield. Second, and perhaps the primary reson the corner caught back up, is that his right foot on the fifth step came down laterally to his pivot foot, after the pivot foot came off of the ground. His hips pop back up, he gains zero power off of his left foot, and his right foot comes down at an angle where he cannot possible generate any power off of one step.
It appears that London should be able to plant his right foot down with adequate ankle separation, then accelerate from sunken hips and a forward lean to have a yard on the corner, who is already accelerating forward due to how many steps it took London to pivot. Because he did not, he wasted a step to try and accelerate off of his sixth step (left foot), and by that time, the ball was already coming his way, and the corner was able to break it up with very good defense and play recognition.
Summary
London planted his right foot to begin deceleration, which lead to a five step turn, despite not running full speed and being in off coverage. The three steps before the pivot did not decelerate London enough, and he spent too much time on his pivot foot (left - fourth step). He then popped his hips up and picked up his left foot before planting his right, causing an obtuse knee angle with very little ability to accelerate. This lead to him taking a sixth step to produce some lower body power, and by this time, the corner had already come back to make a play.
Importance
First, London is a young wide receiver who has a lot to learn, and whose size will prevent him from ever moving like a Tyreek Hill. Second, there are many clips of elite NFL route running wide receivers who run routes suboptimally at times. Implementing perfect footwork on the fly can be less important than feeling out the corner and focusing on other aspects of the game.
The reason this is so important is because London rarely creates his own separation on any given play. In this play specifically, the corner was respecting the deep route, and still got back to London based on a plethora of small imperfections in his footwork. Comeback routes are very important to taller outside receivers. If the corner does not have to respect a possible acute change of direction, coverage becomes much easier. If London cleans up his footwork even a little, he will have a lot more success in the NFL.
Coverage:
Press
Cannot get open against press. Unless the corner is in shallow zone coverage and stays in the flat, London will not get open on his own accord. He is extremely physical and can use contact to put himself in a position to go up and get the ball, but he has room to grow in that category as well.
Jam Response (in Press)
Rarely seen, but London usually can run right past contact at the line. He has a lot of length on most corners, and uses it to knock their arms before they make contact with his shoulder or torso.
Soft Press
Not much different from press. London does not have the route running ability or lateral agility to shake a corner in soft press, and usually gets blanketed regardless of coverage. Slightly more reliable out routes than from press.
Squat
London is good at out-positioning the corner if he initiates contact. If the corner backpedals and stays slightly off of London until the ball is in the air, then the catch percentage seems lower. Either way, it is once again a contested catch situation.
Off
Can out-position corners in off coverage when breaking laterally on mid-range routes. Cannot get deep separation from the outside against off coverage without a flaw from the corner. If London catches an underthrown ball and is given too much respect by the corner, he can turn upfield for a big play.
Inside Zone
Not always the best at finding the hole, but he knows how to come back to the ball and get his hands on it first from zone. He is inconsistent with regard to adjusting to what the defense gives him. Sometimes he is excellent at moving continuously to maintain as much separation from the linebackers as possible, while other times he just stops moving once there is contact and his route is completed. Separation numbers may be skewed because innate separation against zone from the slot is significantly better than separation seen on the outside.
Route Distance:
Behind LOS
London is deceptively good with the ball in his hands, and USC gave him a decent number of receptions in open space. He is certainly not a gadget guy, but he will give every opportunity all he has, especially when it means using his body to get a first down.
0-5 yards
London received the ball on flat routes a fair amount, and he did a lot with it. He will not gain outside separation here, but will always initiate contact and gain positive yardage if given the opportunity.
5-10 yards
Lack of route running ability limits separation at this level. Slant and out routes from starting anywhere on the field are generally effective as London can stay between his quarterback and the defender. London will always come back to a ball or high point it to ensure that he touches it before the defender, but his separation is generally subpar.
10-20 yards
From the slot, he tends to get decent separation. Linebackers cannot and will not disrupt a route of this distance if they are running with him. Contested catches of this distance on the outside are likely to go the way of London, but this may not carry over well to the NFL level.
20+ yards
Can gain separation from the slot, but that has mainly been from missed assignments by the safeties. Great at contested catches on the outside, but does not gain much separation along the sideline.
Blocking:
Willingness
Always willing to do what ever it takes, including blocking. It just does not seem like anyone has ever taught him how.
Technique
Below average. 2020 tape better than 2021 tape, likely because he played more from the slot in 2020, and therefore had more practice blocking. Mostly just runs into defenders aggressively. He usually can make solid contact, but his blocks are shed easily. Using his length will be the key to improving his blocking at the next level.
Attributes:
Full Report:
London gives every play his all. Whether it is going sky high over a corner for a contested catch or fighting for the extra yard with the ball in his hands, London will give his team 100%. His athleticism for someone standing 6'5" is outstanding, making him a very high upside prospect. He was frequently a mismatch for college corners, so he could be targeted on nearly every play regardless of separation. That said, his lack of separation is the most concerning aspect of his game.
In 2020, he played frequently as a big slot, where he could generally find the holes in zone underneath and make big plays deep over the middle. Even when he could not gain separation, he would be able to come back and get to the ball first over linebackers. His production was not spectacular with a limited route tree and other good receiving options on his team, but he later became the main guy in 2021 after moving outside full time. While his production spiked and he was hyper-targeted putting him on pace to break the USC single-season record for yards and receptions, he could never really create separation on the outside. He was taller and more athletic than many college corners and could simply win 50/50 balls, but this will be much more difficult at the next level.
London needs to improve his footwork if he wants to be a successful X in the NFL. Raw height and athleticism will not be enough to reliably win on the outside, especially when he has already shown that he does not have the most sure hands. His highlight reel is riddled with exciting contested catches and long runs after the catch, which is enticing for any team who believes that they can bring out the best in him. The potential of London at the NFL level is obvious to anyone who has seen him play, but he has too many important areas upon which he needs to improve to be selected over some of the other top options.
He fractured his ankle eight games into the 2021 season, but his draft stock should not plummet as there was no ligament damage. With how competitive London is, it will be no surprise if he comes back even faster, stronger, and puts up surprising numbers at the combine.
NFL Projection:
Likely
X or Y who plays mostly along the boundary, and is occasionally given touches behind the LOS. He will likely be used as a red zone threat who is given touchdown opportunities regardless of coverage.
Optimal
Mostly Y to play on the outside without going up against the opposing number one corner., but moves to Z on occasion to get more touches between -5 and 5 yards out through manufactured separation from play calling. There are better guys after the catch who are smaller and more elusive, but London will put his head down and do what ever it takes to get the first down. He is still better suited to play outside than in the slot, and giving him the opportunity to go deep for contested catches will be more successful if he is not against an elite man corner.
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