With pro days, NFL Combine performances, and interviews with coaches and Falcons personnel staff, players’ draft board positions often change from where they are first placed at the February meetings.
But for the Falcons, London’s position on their board never wavered.
The Falcons’ biggest questions were answered following the NFL Combine. Fontenot, coach Arthur Smith, offensive coordinator Dave Ragone, wide receivers coach T.J. Yates, and President & CEO Rich McKay flew to USC for a private workout with London, who they had not seen play since his injury.
Yates and Ragone threw passes, and they put London through drills to test his speed and ankle, which was back to full strength.
“The fact that he had the injury, we wanted to see him move around and see him do some different things,” Fontenot said. “We were able to go and just do that on our own, and that was very important.”
The workout eased their concerns, and there were no questions about his character. Fontenot saw him as the perfect fit for the team’s ethos. So when London was there for the taking at eight, and sat as the highest player on the Falcons draft board, they jumped to get him.
“You feel really good when you draft a player that everybody wanted,” Fontenot said.
“He checked all the boxes that we look for,” Robinson said. “There was nothing that was left on the table with him.”
London will have massive shoes to follow as the Falcons’ first-round pick. Last year, Kyle Pitts lived up to the hype surrounding his selection as the highest tight end picked in NFL history, breaking franchise and league records and earning a Pro Bowl nod. While the Falcons are not expecting London to be Pitts – or any other player for that matter – they know that his ceiling is sky-high.
“He has everything you want in a receiver,” Robinson said. “Now, in terms of everything else, he has to put in the work, understand the scheme, pick up the offense, and you know, what we want him to do within the scheme. But I think this dude…