Drake London ‘progressing’ and practicing, hopeful for Week 1 against Saints

Yesterday, Arthur Smith met with the media to discuss the upcoming week, and one of the questions that inevitably came up concerned Drake London. The rookie wide receiver is expected to be a major part of what’s hopefully an improved passing attack in 2022, and anything that keeps him out for Week 1 against the Saints will obviously be a blow for the offense.

Arthur Smith has been upbeat—as upbeat as he gets, anyways—about London’s status over the past few weeks. London had been injured in the preseason opener after a nice 24 yard catch and run and has not played since, but there was optimism he’d be available against the Saints.

It still sounds like that’s the likely outcome, though Smith is understandably not setting anything in stone. London is in practice, which is in and of itself a good sign, but in Smith’s words London is “progressing.”

I’m no Twitter doctor, so I’m not going to say confidently that London will be out there against the Saints, but the team has certainly indicated they expect him to be before now. If he’s practicing, that’s seemingly a strong indicator that he’ll be playing if there are no setbacks. With any luck, he’ll be listed as probable when the injury designations roll out on Wednesday.

London was the top receiver drafted back in April. With his height, ball skills, and both willingness and ability to make things happen after the catch, he seems like a strong fit for this Falcons offense and should be a formidable pass catching option alongside Kyle Pitts, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Bryan Edwards as soon as he is on the field. Let’s hope he’s playing—and productive—against the dumb Saints.