Drake London draws surprising NFL comparison ahead of draft

Former USC Trojans wide receiver Drake London continues to impress ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft. London is likely to be one of the first wideouts taken in the first round on draft night, and he could be selected as early as the top ten. With less than a month until the draft, FOX Sports analyst Bruce Feldman gave London a lofty NFL comparison.

When looking at London, Feldman sees a lot of former Texas A&M and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans.

“First of all, he was an elite basketball player growing up,” Feldman said of London. “He won’t turn 21 until late July, so he’s still pretty young. He’s 6’4, 220, and football functioning speed is really good. He may not time great, but he really can move well when you see him in pads. The other thing that I heard is he reminds people of Mike Evans, who was also a high level basketball player coming out of high school.

“Not quite as big as Mike Evans, but close. Mike Evans ran really well, probably better than people realized until he got through the draft process, then he surprised people with his speed. I think there’s a lot of parallel there. His ball skills are so good. Keep in mind, that was a disaster of a program last year at USC, and he was the one thing they had going. He played hard, and I think you have to give him a lot of respect for what he did on a dreadful team. When everything else was falling apart around him, he was going 100 miles an hour.”

London has impressed in the pre-draft process

Over the first two years of his career at USC, London played in 14 games, hauling in 72 receptions for 1,069 yards and eight touchdowns. This past season, London blew past his previous career highs. In eight games during the 2021 season, London brought in 88 catches for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns.

In his three-year collegiate career, London had 160 receptions for 2,153 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging 13.5 yards per reception.

The comparison to Evans is a lofty one, but it makes sense. Both Evans and London are receivers with good size and good speed, with the ability to make a play on nearly any ball thrown their ways.

In ESPN NFL Draft expert Todd McShay’s latest mock draft, London went eighth overall to the Atlanta Falcons. He was the second wideout off the board in that projection, with Garrett Wilson going at No. 4. Other receivers that are candidates to be taken early in the first round are Chris Olave, Jameson Williams, Treylon Burks, and Jahan Dotson.