'A Lot of Special Players': How Atlanta Falcons Rebuilt WRs Room Around Drake London

From free agency talks to the on-field results, an inside look at the Atlanta Falcons' receiver room remodel.

The Atlanta Falcons' new-look wide receiver room is still led by Drake London. / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons' new crop of assistant coaches arrived at team headquarters in Flowery Branch the week of Feb. 12-16. At the start of the week, they had little clue where anything was. By week's end, they found direction - both in the building and within their position rooms.

Late in their first week, the Falcons' assistants assembled in a room with general manager Terry Fontenot. Each assistant evaluated the players in their position room before going through prototypes of players in a detailed process of each coach's preferences.

For new receiver coach Ike Hilliard, the evaluation on last year's group of wideouts didn't take long. The team's No. 1 target, Drake London, had 69 catches. He was the lone receiver to eclipse 20 grabs.

The rest of Hilliard's studies included Mack Hollins, KhaDarel Hodge, Van Jefferson and Scotty Miller. Hollins caught 18 passes, Hodge had 14 receptions and Jefferson and Miller had 12 and 11, respectively. No other receivers on Atlanta's roster caught passes last season.

Hilliard provided Fontenot with a one-sheeter of what he wanted at the receiver position, a list topped by fast, physical playmakers with the mental capacity to make life easier for the quarterback.

Hilliard gave examples of the players he wanted, and the pair watched film of those examples to further their cohesive understanding. He and Fontenot also evaluated free agents, and of the ones on the roster, only Hodge ultimately returned. London was the only receiver under contract once the new league year started.

Shortly after their first meeting, Fontenot met again with each of his assistants. This time, they jumped into the free agency process. A few weeks later, when the tampering period opened March 11, Fontenot knew who, and what, made sense to maximize players who fit the profile and prototype of new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson's system.

"It was clear once you sort through the current roster and you're looking at how this whole thing is going to fit together, it became very clear the targets that we would try to go get," Robinson told FalconsSI during OTAs.

Those targets, Hilliard told FalconsSI in June, included several big names, including Hollywood Brown and Tyler Boyd, who signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans, respectively. Hilliard was also intrigued by Mike Evans, who re-signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the week before free agency started.

But there was another name on the list who the Falcons put a priority on signing: Former Chicago Bears standout Darnell Mooney.

Amused by Mooney's separation, speed, playmaking and versatility, Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris placed an emphasis on bring the ex-1,000-yard wideout to Atlanta. They received a little bit of help to get over the finish line.

Shortly after the Falcons and quarterback Kirk Cousins verbally agreed to a four-year, $180 million contract, Cousins received word Atlanta was close to finalizing a deal with Mooney. So, he gave Mooney a call, hoping to go from NFC North rivals to part of the solution in Atlanta.

"His answer is, 'I just want to win,'" Cousins said. "And I said, 'Well, we're on the same page.'"

Less than 24 hours after the Falcons agreed to terms with Cousins, they did the same with Mooney, who later signed a three-year, $39 million contract.

Two days after adding Mooney, the Falcons' receiver room grew by two. Atlanta re-signed Hodge just before noon March 14, and a few hours later, it traded quarterback Desmond Ridder to the Arizona Cardinals for receiver Rondale Moore.

Still, the Falcons weren't done. Later that day, they reached an agreement with Ray-Ray McCloud.

The Falcons' coaching staff had multiple ties to McCloud, who did a private workout for Morris before the 2018 NFL Draft and played under Hilliard with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2020-21.

McCloud, speaking one-on-one with FalconsSI, said familiarity weighed only partially on his decision to sign with Atlanta.

"Coaches change every day, players change every day, so it was more of what they were trying to do here," McCloud said during minicamp. "The culture they're trying to build here. Knowing Raheem before I got to the NFL, the relationships I had here, being near home from Tampa.

"Being close but far - my family gets to see me play more. Out west, it's kind of tough. All of them can see me play (here). It all weighed in together."

Atlanta continued adding to its receiver room in the draft, selecting Illinois receiver Casey Washington in the sixth round before signing several others in undrafted free agency.

Prior to the start of free agency, Hilliard said he wanted to add explosiveness. By the time OTAs began May 13, he felt the mission - be it through free agency, trades, or the draft - had been accomplished.

"We just knew that for the vision for this football team, having Drake London being the only receiver under contract, we wanted to get faster around Drake," Hilliard said. "We like having guys that can create their own shots - getting one on one situations and win and separate for our quarterback.

"So having Darnell and having Rondale, having Ray-Ray - we have some young players that are growing around No. 5. We're excited about what can possibly be."

***

After deciding to sign with Atlanta, Mooney wanted the phone number of one of his new colleagues - not Morris, or Robinson, or even Hilliard. He wanted to text London ... so he did.

"I'm not competing with you," Mooney said. "We're going to do this thing together, so you don't have to worry about me stepping on your toes. I'm here for you, I'm here to learn with you, and vice versa. No egos at all. So, let's do this thing together and go win."

That was the start of London and Mooney's relationship as teammates. Three weeks later, when they both arrived in Flowery Branch on April 2 for the Falcons' first day of offseason workouts, their evolution began.

Mooney didn't know where he was going. London and Hodge helped him find his way and have eased his transition from Chicago to Atlanta.

In a similar light, the Falcons expect Mooney to help London on the field this fall.

"We're building a whole new Atlanta offense with Zac Robinson, and I thought it was really important that we get threats on all three levels of the field," Morris said. "Drake provides such a good threat from an underneath standpoint, from a high-cross standpoint, from the stuff he can really do and he's done well throughout his career with the toughness that he displays.

"And I thought putting pieces around him like the Mooney's, like the Rondale Moore's, and some of the guys who we were able to bring in - those guys fit well within that room."

The common traits amongst the players Atlanta added is speed. Mooney clocked a 4.38 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in 2020. The following year, Moore ran a 4.29 40-yard dash at his pro day. In 2018, McCloud ran a 4.49 40-yard dash.

London, who stands 6-foot-4, 213 pounds, didn't run a 40-yard dash in the 2022 pre-draft cycle as he was recovering from a broken ankle that cut his final college season short, but he's not known for his vertical speed. When discussing London, Hilliard focused more on his hands, playmaking, size and fluidity - but not his top gear.

In previous years, Atlanta, led from 2021-23 by head coach Arthur Smith, added niche speed threats around London, including Damiere Byrd in 2022 and Miller in 2023. Neither were consistently productive. The rest of the Falcons' receiver room was filled with big bodies - it was often referred to as a basketball team.

With Morris replacing Smith at the helm in January, the Falcons placed a noticeable emphasis on speed at the expense of size - though with London and tight end Kyle Pitts, who measures 6-foot-6, 247 pounds, Atlanta has a pair of large targets.

Fontenot said the change in body types didn't have to do with the staff change. Instead, it was the realization the Falcons needed to add receivers and plenty of internal excitement about the type of options available.

"It's not that we're specifically saying we don't want any more big guys, (or) we want a small, fast guy - it wasn't that," Fontenot said. "It's just about adding good football players that we feel really good about in regard to their skill sets.

"If Mooney was a couple inches shorter or a couple inches taller, it wouldn't have changed that - he fits what we're looking for."

The Falcons' receiver room now boasts the 5-foot-11, 173-pound Mooney, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound McCloud and the 5-foot-7, 181-pound Moore, among several others. Of the 13 wideouts on the 90-man roster, six break the 200-pound barrier.

Part of Atlanta's flexibility of receiver body type preferences comes from Hilliard, while another element comes from Morris, who spent 2016-19 as the Falcons' receiver coach. He worked with Julio Jones, Harry Douglas, Justin Hardy, Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel, among several others.

"You had different body types, different movement skills, and you want to be able to put all those guys in that room so you can really provide more opportunities for that quarterback to get those guys the football so you can be explosive," Morris said.

***

During the Falcons' third-to-last OTA practice June 3, Cousins scanned the defense, took the snap and looked to his left.

Atlanta was in the midst of a seven-on-seven redzone drill. On this particular snap, the offense won, as Cousins found Mooney in the front left corner of the endzone. Mooney celebrated by jogging back to the huddle.

Plays like this, Mooney said earlier in camp, should be the expectation for the Falcons' new-look receiver room.

"It's a lot of special players," Mooney said. "I get kind of frustrated when we're out if we're not perfect. I feel like every time we throw the ball up in the air, it should be completed. We should not lose a rep at all.

"It should be our defense saying, 'We're going against a great offense every day. What can we do? We can't stop that.' So, if it's not completed, I'm frustrated. I'm striving for perfection."

For London, the influx of new wideouts created a learning-filled spring, as each player brings experience and perspective unique to their careers.

But most importantly, London has seen how the additions create more space and opportunities for him - and the 22-year-old standout said it's a relief having the pieces around him that he now does.

"We have great additions to this team," London said. "Mooney, Ray-Ray, Rondale, Red (Hodge). We got a lot of guys out here who can really, really ball. They've got speed and they can go. Just very, very excited to play with them and learn from them."

London noted the chemistry in the room is "really, really good," and he believes the group will become tightknit as it continues growing and proves itself on the field this fall.

As such, London said he's exciting - and he feels similarly about the arrival of Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowl passer who brings a level of experience, accuracy and leadership London hasn't seen under center in his first two seasons.

Hilliard is also fond of Cousins, saying the 12-year pro has essentially encountered every scenario as a professional. Better yet, adding Cousins gave the Falcons the confidence needed to invest in faster weapons around London.

"I think the faster things happen and the faster that (Cousins) can process it and get the ball where it needs to go, we become a better offense," Hilliard said. "If we can be efficient with that and consistent with that, we're going to put a lot of pressure on defenses."

With Cousins in the fold and Robinson, previously the Los Angeles Rams' quarterback coach, bringing several principles with him from his prior stop, the Falcons are expected to become more pass-happy in 2024.

Or, in other terms, will have plenty of chances to show the strides they've made in Hilliard's room.

"With this playbook and quarterback and style of offense, I feel like that's a good thing for everybody receiver-wise on this team," Mooney said.

Now, the challenge becomes putting it all together. Robinson is a first-time play-caller tasked who's been handed the keys of a Ferrari. He's no stranger to offensive success, be it his time as a quarterback at Oklahoma State University from 2005-09 or his stint on Sean McVay's coaching staff in Los Angeles from 2019-13.

But thus far, Robinson has already shown promise. His vision spearheaded Atlanta's receiver room makeover, and his creativity, spacing and volume of targets have drawn praise from the team's pass catchers.

The Falcons have conquered half the battle - creating a group of wideouts who complement one another and can win in a variety of ways. The collective effort to upgrade the room has certainly been impressive on paper.

And with nearly two months on the practice field to support his cause, Robinson believes the on-field returns will justify the hype.

"Those guys have been as advertised in everything and even more than we expected," Robinson said. "Not only as football players, but these guys are great guys - they love ball, they're good team guys, and that's been really fun to see."