00:00The numbers on Drake London, do you have him, essentially, a massive contract?
00:05Four-year, $141 million deal, $150 million he could max out to, $100 million of that is guaranteed.
00:12He is the third highest paid receiver in the league behind Jackson, Smith, Njigba, Jamar Chase, and then Drake London.
00:23Yeah, Justin Jefferson coming up just after that.
00:25Right behind him, C.D. Lamb, yes, right there.
00:27Yeah, I mean, listen, it's pretty obvious that the Atlanta Falcons have some pieces that the rest of the league
00:37would covet, right?
00:38The number one piece is Bajon Robinson, who the question will be, will he be a Barry Sanders that everybody
00:44agrees is worth the price of admission?
00:47Get your popcorn ready.
00:48This is a premier player in the league, a Hall of Fame-type talent that is playing in a place
00:54in a city that just can't win.
00:56And that's been the narrative so far on both these guys, both Drake London and Bajon, you know, when their
01:03quarterbacks are a comeback.
01:05Let me just back up to Drake for a second and look at his numbers.
01:10Whatever he has done, which has been wide receiver one since he's been here, drafted eighth overall in 2022,
01:17he has had to catch passes and be in an offense with the likes of Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ritter, Kirk
01:26Cousins, and Michael Penix.
01:28Yeah.
01:29So your point is what?
01:29There should be an asterisk.
01:32Like, the fact that he had 900 yards a year on average-ish is a miracle.
01:38It's nothing shy of a miracle.
01:41I mean, yes, listen, to a degree, I mean, I would not say Kirk Cousins, certainly Kirk Cousins was very
01:48effective.
01:491,271 yards was his most in a season, 100 catches, yes, in 24.
01:54Yeah, that was the Kirk Cousins year, where, you know, I'm not going to sit and tell you the way,
01:58you know,
01:58they're a worse quarterback to be thrown to you than Kirk Cousins.
02:01Now, he imploded.
02:03Last year, he's injured.
02:04He doesn't get his 1,000 yards, but he was banged up last year.
02:06That was the problem.
02:08And, you know, it was a similar mediocre quarterback played by Penix and Kirk Cousins.
02:13Obviously, with Mariota and Desmond Ritter, you don't have much of a shot at all with those two guys.
02:17I mean, at least Kirk Cousins came in, was a professional quarterback that took over the position
02:21and had 300-yard games and had, you know, the ability to spread the ball around,
02:30and he had a 450-yard game, and he had north of 300, and, of course, the win against the
02:34Eagles.
02:35Listen, Drake London has proven himself, right?
02:38And B. John Robinson has proven himself.
02:40They're proving themselves on a football team that can't find, you know, that can't find their way.
02:44They're firing their coaches.
02:45They're firing Arthur Smith.
02:46They're firing, you know, Terry Fonda, the GM, and then they're firing Raheem Morris.
02:51And through all this, you've got guys like Chris Lindstrom, stud, Jesse Bates, stud,
02:56Drake London, stud, B. John Robinson, stud, right?
03:00You're sprinkling in consistent guys.
03:03You're not going to win by losing guys like that.
03:05You don't want to lose guys like that.
03:06The question is, what is the legacy going to be of Drake London and his, you know,
03:14his Atlanta Falcons, you know, the book written with him as a member of the Atlanta Falcons?
03:20Are you going to get him in a playoff game?
03:23Are you going to get him in a postseason?
03:25Are you going to get him a division title?
03:27Are you going to get him a quarterback that you feel good about?
03:30Like, those are massive questions.
03:32But you're not going to get better with him leaving the building.
03:36Absolutely.
03:37Right?
03:37And they know that.
03:38And they know it with Bijan.
03:40And, like, you know, there's a reason last year everybody thought the Falcons had a shot
03:47to be the New England Patriots coming out of nowhere and making a run.
03:53Right?
03:53Who else is it?
03:53Seattle to a degree.
03:55Although they were a playoff team, I think, the year before.
03:57Right?
03:58Or certainly in that category.
04:00And I'm just trying to think of the teams that surprised last year that stepped up.
04:04Bears were one of them the year before with Caleb.
04:06And, you know, there's going to be six or eight teams every year that you didn't see
04:09in the playoffs the year before.
04:11Why did people think the Falcons were going to be that?
04:13Because they're like, oh, they got Bijan.
04:16They got Drake.
04:18They got an offensive line that's solid.
04:20Right?
04:21Led by Lindstrom and Bergeron.
04:23And they got a quarterback people like.
04:25Now, why everybody liked Michael Penix based on three games the year before?
04:29I don't know.
04:29But most people liked him.
04:30They're like, Michael Penix has taken the reins.
04:33Kirk Cousins is the backup.
04:34They have a quarterback that's a young quarterback.
04:36And he has a chance.
04:37And most people like the Falcons.
04:39Right?
04:40With good reason.
04:41Because Bijan and Drake are two of the best in their position.
04:43But if we don't have a quarterback.
04:45And, again, that's what this is going to come down to.
04:47Tua Tungvaloa this year.
04:49Michael Penix this year.
04:51Or going and drafting.
04:52And, you know, and then Drake London's.
04:54Then Drake London's got a fifth quarterback.
04:57Or a sixth quarterback.
04:58Right?
04:59If Tua Tungvaloa plays this year, that's the fifth quarterback he's played with.
05:03And then if they realize he's not the guy, then Drake London will have had six quarterbacks in six years.
05:11And that is the rub.
05:14Exactly.
05:15Six quarterback in six years if it's not going to be Tua this year.
05:19If it's going to be Tua this year and somebody else next year are Penix.
05:22You've got to fix that position.
05:24But Drake London is an absolute stud.
05:26One of the great, you know, live ball, go up and make a play.
05:32One-on-one.
05:33Use your body.
05:34Phenomenal basketball player.
05:36Phenomenal athlete.
05:38Big, strong, tough gamer.
05:41Great picket.
05:42Eighth in the draft coming out of USC.
05:44He's everything that you could ask for.
05:46100%.
05:46Pay the man.
05:47Good for him.
05:48Let's go.
05:49Do you want my greatest Falcon receivers?
05:52My favorite five receivers.
05:53Five.
05:54Okay.
05:54My five.
05:55You said eight earlier, but we'll make it five.
05:57Well, I'm not going to include tight ends because if you let me include tight ends, I'm going
06:00to put Algie Crumpler in there, but we're talking about receivers.
06:02Okay.
06:03Go from five to one.
06:05Now, do you want to hear eight from me?
06:07Here's my honorable mention.
06:09Okay.
06:09Billy White Shoes Johnson, because he's a great guy.
06:11His numbers aren't anything that special, but Billy White Shoes has one of the great catches
06:15in Falcons history, the Hail Mary catch, again, from Barkowski, also a special teams guy,
06:21also a friend of ours.
06:22He's just a great dude.
06:24Right?
06:24So Billy White Shoes is honorable mention.
06:27Andre Risen is honorable mention because I wasn't really here for Andre Risen.
06:32That was the Jerry Glanville run before I got to town, too legit to quit.
06:37Andre Risen, absolute star, all kinds of crazy stuff off the field going on as well.
06:43But he's, I wasn't here for him.
06:45So I'm just talking about Stake Shapiro rolls into town.
06:48These are my guys.
06:50Okay.
06:50Okay.
06:50Then number five is Terrence Mathis, third leading receiver in Falcons history, another
06:56guy we know well, great dude, right?
06:58Had the Bobby Hebert catch to get us into the playoffs.
07:02I was at the game, fourth quarter, over the middle.
07:06Mathis has the catch, total professional, just under a Hall of Fame player, but a great
07:12player in Terrence Mathis.
07:13Number four is our buddy Michael Jenkins, right?
07:16Wow.
07:16First catch in history.
07:18Yep.
07:18First throw in the history of Matt Ryan, goes for a touchdown.
07:2160-yarder.
07:22Yep.
07:22He just, also a dude that just, you know, physical specimen, great dude, somebody you
07:30and I have got to know.
07:31Love him.
07:32I'm going to put him at number four.
07:33Mm-hmm.
07:35At number three, I'm going to put Drake London because Drake London is just, he's an elite
07:45player.
07:45He's an elite wide receiver.
07:47The best years are ahead of him.
07:49And that is a guy I have complete faith in.
07:52100% faith that Drake London in a big situation is going to make big catches.
07:57And then if you get good enough, he's going to help you win a playoff game.
08:01He's going to help you do great things because Drake London's a guy that can have an eight
08:04catch, 137-yard game, similar to what Roddy and Julio did.
08:08And these are my next two.
08:09Roddy or Julio in the big game, whether it was Roddy absolutely torching the Seattle Seahawks,
08:15getting us that playoff win for Matt Ryan when I think he went for like a buck 30 and a
08:19quarter or something crazy.
08:20He's at two.
08:22One of the all-time affable, great dudes, just an absolute beast right there with numbers
08:31with Julio Jones, although he did it in so many more games.
08:34And obviously Julio Jones, one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history.
08:37He'll be in the Hall of Fame.
08:38He's my number one.
08:40Now, special shout out to Brian Finneran.
08:42Yes.
08:43Nice recovery.
08:44Brian Finneran.
08:45Also mentioned.
08:45In his own category, but by the way, deserves it.
08:50Brian Finneran putting up how many different seasons?
08:55Six-foot-five, slot receiver, Michael Vick's favorite receiver.
08:59Third down machine.
09:01236 catches in his career, 3,000 yards, and 19 touchdowns.
09:07So he's in his own category.
09:10And he's our brother from another mother.
09:12Yes.
09:12But otherwise, it was Mathis, Jenkins, Drake London, Roddy White, and Julio Jones
09:24with a special shout out to say nobody loves the Falcons more.
09:28Nobody was a better representative.
09:30A free agent, non-drafted, decade north, Brian Finneran.
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