FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — At the outset of the post-Matt Ryan era, the Falcons added another piece to their massive rebuilding project.
With the eighth pick in the NFL draft, the Falcons selected former USC wide receiver Drake London on Thursday night.
Georgia defensive end Travon Walker was selected No. 1 overall by Jacksonville.
Walker’s selection was followed by Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (Detroit), LSU cornerback Derek Stingley (Houston), Cincinnati’s cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner (New York Jets), Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux (New York Giants), N.C. State offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu (Carolina) and Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal (New York Giants).
The Falcons met with Alabama speedster Jameson Williams and London, according to the players at the scouting combine in March. Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson was also a popular mock pick for the Falcons.
Williams is a burner, who can get open deep as he showed in the SEC Championship game. He torched Georgia’s highly regarded defense for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
Williams suffered an ACL tear in the College Football Playoff Championship game rematch against Georgia in January, which clouded his draft status. He was being projected to drafted in the middle of the first round.
London gives the Falcons a bigger receiver to couple with tight end Kyle Pitts, who had over 1,000 yards receiving and was name to the Pro Bowl as a rookie last season. London and Pitts have the ability to make a dynamic red-zone duo.
While many will argue against the Falcons taking a receiver in the first round, especially with such a deep group of prospects, no one would deny it’s a primary need on a team with multiple holes.
The Falcons lost Russell Gage to Tampa Bay in free agency. Also, Calvin Ridley left the team for mental health reasons and was suspended indefinitely for gambling. Cordarrelle Patterson, was the team’s third-leading receiver last season behind Pitts and Gage. He was also the teams top rusher.
Taking a wide receiver at the top of the draft will be heavily scrutinized because several similarly-situated wide receivers were projected be available in the second and perhaps the third round.
The second and third rounds of the draft will start at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Falcons have four picks overall, two in the second round (43rd and 58th overall) and two in the third round (74th and 82nd overall).
On Saturday, the Falcons have four remaining picks in the fourth (114th), fifth (151st) and sixth (190th and 213th).
