Fantasy Football Draft Sleepers: Drake London (2023)

Super Bowl LVII is in the books, and now we are in the dead period of the NFL offseason between the 2022 season being over and the start of NFL free agency. The next big event on the NFL calendar is the 2023 NFL Combine, which will give us some insight into how well the best college players exercise and run around in shorts. We know the NFL Draft is upon us when Rich Eisen runs his 40-yard dash, and we can start debating whether a player has the size, quickness, speed, and strength to play in the NFL.

This is also the time of year that we start speculating about players that were good in 2022 and are on the verge of breaking out in 2023. Several good wide receivers were only WR3’s in fantasy, due to poor quarterback situations, injuries, or they did not develop into great fantasy receivers until later in the season. All of them are hoping that 2023 is their year to be among the best wide receivers in the NFL.

Here is my look at some WR3 options from the 2022 season that could be looking at breaking out as a fantasy WR1 option in 2023. They all did great things in 2022, and they could all be on the cusp of monster fantasy seasons in 2023 if their teams commit to them being the centerpiece of their passing offenses and if the teams can fix some of their issues on offense this offseason.

WR3s With WR1 Potential (2023 Fantasy Football)

Drake London (ATL)

London was stuck in an anemic offense that tallied just 415 pass attempts (31st), 2,699 passing yards (31st), and just 17 passing touchdowns (24th). This offense struggled to move the ball through the air, and London still finished the fantasy season with 109 targets, 66 receptions, 646 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns. He was the 39th-ranked fantasy receiver playing with Marcus Mariota and rookie Desmond Ridder at quarterback.

I am not sure if the Falcons are going to give Ridder another shot at the starting job, sign a veteran quarterback, or draft one in the first round of the NFL Draft. I think Ridder has a chance to develop into a good starting quarterback, and if he is going to develop into the player the Falcons hope he will, it is because he has good skill position talent, such as London and Kyle Pitts. I need to see more before I am sold on London becoming a WR1 in 2023, but I think he showed enough that he has to be considered as someone that could be in for a huge jump in production in 2023.

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