The Falcons have invested heavily on the offensive side of the ball over the past five years, using each of their 1st round picks in the 2020-2024 drafts on an offensive player. Those selections have included tight end Kyle Pitts at No. 4, followed by wide receiver Drake London, running back Bijan Robinson and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. each at No. 8 in their respective drafts.
While they boast some of the elite young talent in the league, quarterback play has been their Achilles’ heel over the past few seasons. None of the quarterbacks since Matt Ryan’s retirement have finished better than 7-7 in a single season.
Atlanta’s hoping that Michael Penix Jr. will take them where Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke and Kirk Cousins weren’t able to: the playoffs. If they’re going to make a playoff run this year, it will likely come down to the ability of Penix to get to the ball to their elite playmakers in Bijan Robinson and Drake London.
After missing out in 2024, Robinson and London both landed in Cody Benjamin’s top 25 players 25 years old and under heading into 2025.
Bijan Robinson Lands No. 22 Spot Among Players 25 Years Old and Under
After being unranked heading into last season, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson landed at No. 22 on Benjamin’s list. The third-year back catapulted into the elite among his position last year, racking up nearly 1,900 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns.
“The former top-10 pick was simultaneously underused and plenty busy from the jump,” writes Benjamin. His increased workload led to last year “as the meat and potatoes of the Falcons’ ball-control attack.”
Robinson played a key role in helping the Falcons move from 17th to 6th in total offense from 2023 to 2024. If Michael Penix Jr. can take a leap during his sophomore season, the Falcons could jump into the top 5 in terms of total offense. Robinson should once again serve as an elite option both running the ball and catching it out of the backfield.
Falcons WR Drake London Lands No. 24 Spot on List
Drake London will be even more dependent on the development of Michael Penix Jr. this season. But, even with Kirk Cousins starting the first 14 games for the Falcons last season, London managed to rack up 78 catches for 919 yards and 7 touchdowns.
With Penix at quarterback, London excelled, racking up 22 catches for 352 yards and 2 touchdowns in just 3 games. As Benjamin notes, London has “upped his yardage total and catch percentage every season, even with an unsettled quarterback situation.” Incredibly, even during Kirk Cousins’ abysmal 4-game stretch between Week 10 and Week 14, in which he did not throw a single touchdown pass, London still managed to rack up 25 catches for 314 yards.
If Penix and London can build more rapport this offseason, the fourth-year receiver can move into the next tier at the position. His 90.1 PFF receiving grade was good for 5th-best in the league last year.
PFF‘s Trevor Sikkema ranked London as the No. 11 receiver heading into the 2025 season, landing him in Tier 3, just behind Terry McLaurin and Mike Evans. There’s no telling how high London’s ceiling is, especially if he can get behind defenses.
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