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Published May 2, 2022
Evaluating the NFL fits for USC's draftees and undrafted free agents
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Tajwar Khandaker  •  TrojanSports
Staff Writer
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@tajwar002

With the NFL draft in the rearview, it's time to assess the opportunities ahead for the former Trojans who were either selected last week or who have signed undrafted free agent deals with teams.

A UDFA opportunity comes with no guarantees and can amount to just one tryout camp, so roster fit is especially important in those situations.

Here's how we evaluate each of the players' situations ...

WR Drake London -- 1st round, No. 8 overall, Atlanta Falcons

Despite the talented group of receivers in his class, Drake London became the first of his position chosen in the draft. The Atlanta Falcons, with a serious void at wide receiver, opted to select London instead of going for a top offensive lineman. London should immediately become the best wide receiver on the Falcons roster, a position group left painfully bare after the suspension of Calvin Ridley.

Second-year tight end and fellow early draft pick Kyle Pitts serves as the only other serious downfield threat for the team, leaving plenty of targets for London right off the bat. The duo of Pitts and London will place defenses in the unique predicament of having to account for two dynamic, tall receiving threats simultaneously. Most defenses have one dependable jumbo-cover player to match up against dynamic tight ends and big receivers; faced with the duo of Pitts and London most will end up giving up a bad matchup somewhere.

Marcus Mariota is slated to be the likely starter in Atlanta after having signed in free agency, and despite his recent stint as a backup for the Raiders, he might be suitably equipped to handle that role. Mariota’s accuracy has seemingly improved over the past few years, and London’s ability to provide a dependable security outlet for his quarterback will likely make him a favorite target rather quickly. Though Mariota will likely begin the season as the starter for the Falcons, I’d be remiss not to mention Desmond Ridder here. The former Cincinnati Bearcat was selected by Atlanta in the third round, at No. 74 overall, sliding just like the rest of this year’s unusual quarterback class.

Despite questions about his top-end arm strength and inconsistent accuracy, Ridder might just be the most pro-ready signal caller in the class. He shows remarkably developed abilities as a processor of the field, quickly identifying defenses and displaying the ability to make the correct reads. Ridder loves to feed his WR1 however he can get them the ball; the way he got the ball to big target Alec Pierce at Cincinnati evidences his ability to form a strong rapport with his lead pass catcher. Ridder is a master of being on time, and he’s ideally suited to get the ball into London’s hands at the short and intermediate levels in order to let him do damage with the ball in his hands. London’s ability to generate yards after the catch and to win at the catchpoint will be huge for the Atlanta offense, and I expect him to see a lot of volume as a result. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him in the running for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

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