00:00All right. Yeah. To the big Falcons news, obviously. Drake London gets a four year contract extension worth one hundred
00:06and forty one million dollars, potentially up to one hundred and fifty with different incentives and whatnot.
00:11One hundred million dollars guaranteed. And as it stands right now, today, the day that the deal is is announced
00:19and done and all that, he's the third highest paid wide receiver in the NFL.
00:22Now, I think there's a lot of details that go into that. He's still a ways behind Jackson Smith and
00:28Jigba and Jamar Chase.
00:29Yeah. Understand. That's important. I think there's a number of guys that will pass him before football is played in
00:37twenty twenty six.
00:38But I think from from a player standpoint, obviously great. You want to you want to keep good players on
00:45your team and pay them what the market says.
00:47I also think this could turn out to be a really smart deal for the Falcons in the long run
00:51as well. How so?
00:53Well, it all depends on if they figure out their quarterback position, which is what everything.
00:59Depends on. Sure. So that's why I can't go into this because I've seen some reaction to it that you
01:06shouldn't be really doing this without a quarterback.
01:09It's like, well, you can't just put everything on pause until you get one. Yeah.
01:12And unfortunately, then when you have the quarterback, you don't have anyone else lined up.
01:17Yeah. And even, you know, the quarterback situation that they're in right now will benefit from having good players around
01:24them.
01:25And, you know, obviously a good wide receiver to throw to.
01:27But whenever it is that they figure out who the quarterback of their future is, whether it's this year and
01:34then next year, we know who the guy is,
01:36whether they have to draft a guy next next offseason.
01:39And then we go from there, assuming that in the next two to three years we have a solution at
01:45quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons.
01:46At that point, this contract is going to be really reasonable.
01:50Well, the money that thirty five million dollars a year for a top number one wide receiver three years from
01:57now isn't even going to be in the top ten.
01:59And likely at that point, unless Tua plays incredibly this year and he's your future, there's a decent chance that
02:04at that point your quarterback situation is pretty cheap as well.
02:09If it's if it's a drafted quarterback again, that's all the potential money down the road stuff, which is fine
02:17and fun.
02:17And we can talk about the reason it's smart is because Drake London is a top eight wide receiver in
02:22the NFL and you have him for the next five years.
02:24You know, it's funny because I don't think we're getting some of the crazy reaction we got when AJ Terrell
02:32signed his deal.
02:32But I view it very similarly in terms of, hey, I get it.
02:36It's a number, although I don't believe this number is as wildly out there and above or whatever, but I'm
02:44with you.
02:44This won't even be a top five contract by the time the year starts.
02:49I mean, who's getting re-signed receivers?
02:52Olave may pass him in, I don't know, it could be six hours Olave may jump past him.
02:57Yeah, Puka Nakua needed to wait for other people to get contracts and also get out of rehab.
03:01Like you can't just give him a contract.
03:02Do you remember when AJ Terrell signed and everyone's like, I can't believe you're making him the highest paid corner
03:08or whatever it is.
03:09And now he's eighth or nine.
03:11Exactly.
03:11And also remember the language of that deal was, it was presented in such a way as agents do to
03:17make it seem like he was that.
03:19When in reality, like you said, pretty quickly he became not that.
03:22Yeah.
03:23And again, he's one of the best corners in football and you have him.
03:27So you have to pay him and keep him.
03:28I view this deal very similarly.
03:30And I also think what's significant is, yes, he is the third highest paid receiver right now by annual average
03:36value, AAV.
03:37There is such a significant gap between one and two and where he is that you almost, it's almost irrelevant
03:48in terms of that.
03:50I mean, he, he, he passed Justin Jefferson, who's going to pass him up next season, next off season by
03:56what?
03:57$250,000, $300,000.
03:59CD Lamb is going to jump past him next off season or George Pickens, one of those guys.
04:04I mean, it's, it's going to get bumped right down the list, right to where we, because look, just being
04:10fair, I don't think he's the third best receiver in the NFL.
04:13He is top 10, though.
04:14I agree with you.
04:14I think he's probably somewhere between seven, eight.
04:17Yeah.
04:18I don't know.
04:18And that's where his contract eventually is going to fall in line.
04:21Yeah.
04:21I mean, again, it feels appropriate.
04:23That's probably the best word I would use for it.
04:26It feels appropriate for a guy.
04:27And I also think you have to, you have to put the context into the discussion of, this is a
04:34guy who's been able to do what he's done here while playing with Marcus Mario, Desmond Ritter, Kirk Cousins, Taylor
04:41Heineke, and Michael Penix.
04:42Yes.
04:42There's a pretty good chance that this will be the fifth different starting quarterback that he's had week one in
04:48his tenure as an Atlanta Falcon.
04:49And he's still been able to produce to that level where you'd give him a contract like this.
04:53You have to apply the logic of, okay, if they ever get it right at quarterback, which is obviously a
04:59huge if, and I don't know if they're going to do that this year.
05:01We hope they do.
05:01We don't know.
05:03If they ever get it right at quarterback, that would benefit the wide receiver.
05:06If there was someone steady throwing in the ball who you could count on, who was actually good, that would
05:10be great for him.
05:11I think Kyle Pitts, you can put that in.
05:14And there's obviously other issues with Kyle Pitts, but this is going to be Kyle Pitts' sixth year with the
05:19Atlanta Falcons.
05:19And there's a pretty good chance this will be his sixth different starting quarterback week one.
05:23So the team at that position has been an unmitigated disaster.
05:27And for Drake London to still put up the numbers and production that he has, very appropriate that he was
05:33able to earn a contract like this.
05:35Hopefully the team can do right around him and actually stabilize itself, and then he can really show you what
05:40he can do.
05:41Because who knows, maybe he's a top three, maybe he's a top five, I don't know what he is.
05:45But give him a different situation, like the one that Jamar Chase has been in with Joe Burrow when he's
05:52healthy, or some of these other top quarter receivers.
05:55I think he's made the most money in the worst situation of any of these guys.
06:00So kudos to him for that.
06:02Yeah, I just view 35 as, and look, it's great that Drake London gets his money.
06:07I view this as a great number for the team.
06:09I mean, I would have been real concerned if it was in right behind where JSN and Chase were at
06:1738-39 per.
06:19Like we've said, I mean, I think you hit it right on the head.
06:23Start of the season, he's going to be fifth, sixth highest.
06:26By the end of next year's offseason, he's going to be 10-11th highest paid receiver with still two years
06:32on that deal.
06:33And maybe you restructure, and maybe you do what you need to do there, but I just think this is
06:38incredible value for this deal now.
06:41Kind of being the first of the newer guys to reset the number that's not where JSN is.
06:47Because I don't think any of the new guys coming around, I mean, Puka will.
06:50But, you know, the Chris Olave's, they're not going to get 42.
06:54But to beat Chris Olave to that punch, right, and not have to make it 36 because Olave got 35
06:59-5, you know what I mean?
07:01I think it's a great job done by his agent, by him, by Ian Cunningham, by the Falcons.
07:07That's all part of it, too, because you know how the offseason plays out with markets and positions and guys
07:13that are up for contracts is you kind of wait for the first guy to go, and then you go
07:16from there.
07:17For them to make him the first guy this offseason to be willing to sign it, I'll be honest, I'm
07:23a little surprised.
07:23I kind of thought Drake London would be willing to play this season in the final year of the rookie
07:27deal and then see if he could have another year like he did last year.
07:31Now, that's a risk.
07:31It is.
07:32It is.
07:32I mean, I'll take the $100 million guarantee.
07:34Sure.
07:34Trust me.
07:35I don't think – I think he's a different type of dude, and I mean that in a good way.
07:39Maybe.
07:39I don't think he feels the necessity of playing hardball just to be, you know –
07:45Yeah, I mean, I guess.
07:46But, you know, if he had another year – if he had had a year this coming year on a
07:51free agency summer, like he had two years ago.
07:55It would be 40.
07:55It would be 40.
07:56Yeah.
07:56Yeah.
07:57So this is a great deal.
07:58That's not hardball.
07:59That's, you know –
08:00Yeah.
08:00That's deserved, right?
08:01And I think this is deserved, and I think this is appropriate.
08:05It's just realistic that if the Falcons actually handle the business around him correctly in the coming seasons,
08:12it's not ridiculous to think that Drake London could be a top two or three statistical receiver in the NFL
08:18on an outside-the-top-15 contract at the position, if they get the quarterback position right over the next
08:24couple of years.
08:25But that's obviously the biggest if.
08:27You can't wait on that, though.
08:28You can't wait on that.
Comments