Drake London 'Similar' to Mike Evans? Bucs Ex, Falcons WR Scotty Miller Weighs In

Atlanta Falcons second-year receiver Drake London drew a lofty comparison from new teammate Scotty Miller - Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans, who Miller played alongside during the past four seasons.
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It's difficult to grasp the depth of success that Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans has enjoyed since entering the NFL in 2014, but perhaps his nine-year streak of 1,000-yard seasons, the second-longest in league history, sums it up best.

This success is something the Atlanta Falcons have seen up close time and again, as Evans has 85 catches for 1,317 yards and 10 touchdowns against the Dirty Birds.

After the stout career that former Falcons receiver Julio Jones (114 receptions for 1,841 yards and 11 touchdowns in 16 games) had against the Bucs, the dominating No. 1 wideout effect has largely been reciprocated ... but Atlanta may be poised to throw a counterpunch at Tampa Bay.

Why? The presence of 2022 first-round receiver Drake London, who broke the Falcons' rookie receptions record with 72 catches last season and added 866 receiving yards and four touchdowns; all three were team-high marks.

And while the 6-4, 213-pound London couldn't quite match the 6-5, 231-pound Evans' rookie production (77 grabs for 1,124 yards and six scores), the play-style resemblances exist - just ask new Falcons receiver Scotty Miller, who spent the past four years with Evans and has been able to watch London operate in practice this summer.

"Drake is sort of a similar guy to Mike," Miller said, via the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

London and Evans are both big-bodied wideouts who can win above the rim and are physical players after the catch. Evans was selected No. 7 overall in 2014, besting London's mark of No. 8, though the latter was the first receiver off the board while the former was the second.

Now, the aim for London, who's largely just short of Evans in terms of build and rookie production, is to follow in the footsteps of his NFC South counterpart, who has a lengthy resume headlined by four Pro Bowl nods, a Super Bowl and the honor of being the sixth player in league history to have at least 10,000 receiving yards and 75 receiving touchdowns in the first nine seasons of his professional career.

This is where Miller's presence truly factors into the equation, as the 2020 playoff hero knows what has made Evans successful and is intent on spreading those lessons to London.

"I was talking to (London) about different things Mike did," Miller said. "And Mike’s obviously been in the league a long time and had a lot of success. So, just try to kind of give him some things, some tools that Mike did to be successful.

"But I mean, he’s great in his own right, and all the other guys we have as well. So, should be an exciting offense."

And if the 21-year-old London can come close to or improve upon the 74-catch, 1,206-yard, three-score campaign that Evans put together in his second season, there's sure to be plenty of exciting Sundays this fall.


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Daniel Flick
DANIEL FLICK

Daniel Flick is an accredited NFL writer for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Daniel has provided boots-on-ground coverage at the NFL Combine and from the Atlanta Falcons' headquarters, among other destinations, and contributed to the annual Lindy's Sports Magazine ahead of the 2023 offseason. Daniel is a co-host on the 404TheFalcon podcast and previously wrote for the Around the Block Network and Georgia Sports Hospitality Media.