Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London will not play against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, due to a knee injury that he suffered during the 30-27 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 11.
London had seven catches for 119 yards against Carolina in Week 11 before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with what was eventually diagnosed as a PCL strain in his left knee.
Darnell Mooney Has Opportunity To Carry the Receiving Corps
It was reported by Will McFadden of the official team site on Nov. 17 that head coach Raheem Morris initially had some optimism regarding London’s availability, saying “You never know, Drake could come back tomorrow and feel a lot better, but we’ll get a feel for how that goes and he’ll be a week-to-week guy.”
However, London was ultimately ruled out, meaning other Falcons pass catchers will need to step up while handling bigger roles.
On the topic of players stepping up in London’s absence, Morris also said Wednesday, “I’ve got a lot of confidence in David Sills going out there and being able to step up for us and doing some really good things.
“We’ve got to get Mooney to bounce back and do a lot of things for us that we want him to do. Obviously, Kyle Pitts plays a factor into that receiver room. Bijan plays a factor into that receiver room, some of the things he’s able to do. We’ve got a bunch of people that need some opportunities, and they’ll get them. We’ll find out about a lot of our guys this week.”
As Morris alluded to, Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney will likely play a big hand in keeping the receiving corps productive this week. Mooney is versatile enough to produce both in the slot and on the outside. He can run the quick routes like a hitch or slant, but he has more than enough speed to successfully execute post and go routes.
However, Mooney’s production this season has been capped due to a combination of London’s outsized role in the offense and some inefficiency on the former’s part, as he’s caught 16 passes for 224 yards on 42 targets and has a 59.1 (F) PFSN WR Impact Score.
Cousins Gives Mooney Confidence
Quarterback Kirk Cousins, who’s set to operate as the Falcons’ starting quarterback for the rest of the season due to Michael Penix Jr.’s season-ending ACL injury, gave Mooney a vote of confidence on Friday, Terrin Waack of the team’s official site reports.
“He had a tough, tough hand dealt to him with the collarbone even going back to last season and then training camp. So, you kind of have to build from there. I’d love to see him really be able to take off here in the last stretch of the year,” Cousins said.
Given that London leaves behind an average of 10.4 targets per game and Mooney and Cousins have an established rapport from playing 15 games together last season, the veteran receiver Mooney is likely to be one of the quarterback’s most reliable targets come Sunday.
