'Very Natural': Falcons WR Drake London Taking Leadership Role

Atlanta Falcons receiver Drake London isn't the most outspoken individual, but he's proving to be a valuable - and natural - leader ahead of his second professional season.

It's been just over 13 months since Drake London first stepped foot inside the Atlanta Falcons' locker room, but he's wasted no time earning respect.

London, Atlanta's leading receiver last season and rookie record breaker with 72 receptions, was already the team's No. 1 wideout upon arrival a year ago - now, his status amongst his peers reflects the same.

With Olamide Zaccheaus out of Atlanta after four seasons, London is now the longest-tenured Falcons starting receiver; only three other wideouts - KhaDarel Hodge, Josh Ali and Frank Darby - remain on the roster from last year, with Hodge's lone start being the only one for the trio.

Around London, the Falcons are expected to have free agent signees Mack Hollins and Scotty Miller receive snaps, while coach Arthur Smith mixes and matches personnel with running backs Tyler Allgeier, Bijan Robinson and Cordarrelle Patterson and tight ends Kyle Pitts, Jonnu Smith and Parker Hesse.

As such, the Falcons have more than enough weapons - but still, there are plenty of questions to be answered in the receivers room ... except for leadership, of which London has taken hold of entering his second season, according to receivers coach T.J. Yates.

"(London's leadership) was shaped just by new guys - there's only a few guys that are returning, we've got a lot of new faces in the room and a lot of young guys," Yates said at OTAs, via ESPN. "We have an extremely young receiver room other than Mack and Red (Hodge) and Scotty.

"So, it really falls on Drake to be forced into a leadership role, which I think he actually is very natural at it."

London's a humble, team-first individual who often defers praise from himself to his teammates and preaches wins over accolades; after breaking Atlanta's rookie receptions record, he said it "doesn't really mean too much" to him, and he would've been happier had the Falcons made the postseason.

Still only 21 years old, London is more mature and professional - he's soft-spoken but poignant, and his track record speaks for itself.

Between the lines, London is a talker who knows how good he is ... but he's also a supportive teammate who understands that his voice carries value, and in a new-faced receivers room, that's never been true - and he's capitalizing on it.

"Last year, he (had) kind of a more quiet demeanor to him, but you can see, just naturally, because of the kind of guy he is, the competitor he is, the leadership qualities come out of him now," Yates said.

When the Falcons drafted London at No. 8 overall, they knew he had the potential to be an impactful piece both on and off the field - but perhaps maybe not to this extent so soon.

And really, London's still just scratching the surface, eyeing continued growth and achieving an over-arching theme that best reflects his others-first leadership mentality.

"Just to stack wins," London said. "I wouldn't say anything personal right for me, but as a team, as a collective, we want to win as much as we possibly can."

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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