South Atlanta News

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Five inches and 36 pounds differentiate Drake London from Darnell Mooney, with London holding the size advantage over Mooney. London stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs 213 pounds, while Mooney is 5-foot-11 and weighs 177 pounds.

Despite their physical differences, there is one thing the two Atlanta Falcons wide receivers have in common. "They both can do it all in a sense," wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard said, "where they can play on all three levels in the passing game."

Hilliard expressed enthusiasm for the potential that should come with the 2024 season. "We're going to count on Drake and Mooney to be who they are," Hilliard stated. "They've been as advertised, which is really, really good. We're expecting a significant jump for both, and we're expecting them to lead our room kind of where we'd like to see our passing game."

London's leadership expectations come as no surprise as he is the returning veteran of the group. Drafted by the Falcons in the first round of 2022, he has led the team in receiving yards over his two seasons since joining. Last year London produced a career-high 905 yards but had fewer receptions (69) and touchdowns (two). In his rookie year, he recorded 72 receptions for 866 yards and four touchdowns.

Mooney may be a more unexpected leader given he's new to Atlanta. He played for the Chicago Bears from 2020-23 as a former fifth-round pick, bringing more overall experience than London but acquired elsewhere. Mooney's career peak dates back to 2021 with 81 receptions for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns. Last season saw his lowest totals with just 31 receptions for 414 yards and one touchdown.

Since offseason practices began, London and Mooney have been working together with the starters, sparking curiosity about their individual playing styles and whether they complement each other.

"(Mooney) is a down-the-field player, yards-per-catch guy," Hilliard noted. "He's an excellent route runner. He's very instinctive. Great hands. Great after the catch." He added that fans could expect some unique routes from Mooney not seen in previous years.

"The same goes for Drake," Hilliard continued. "We don't see Drake as just a jump-ball guy. We're going to see more routes from him, more isolations underneath and in the intermediate passing game."

Quarterback Kirk Cousins echoed many of Hilliard's sentiments less than a week later: "Mooney has incredible movement skills," Cousins said Monday. "Great hands... There's an intense intent to his work that you don't see very often in players." Regarding London, Cousins commented: "Just a very natural receiver... He kind of just looks open to your eyes at quarterback because of his size... He can run the whole route tree."

The Falcons were determined to acquire Mooney early this offseason; they signed him as a free agent on March 15th, just two days after the new league year began.

"It's going to be fun," Hilliard concluded, "watching those guys with different body types do very similar things and very different things."