The Atlanta Falcons are hosting the Carolina Panthers in one of Sunday’s divisional matchups, as they look to avenge their 30-0 loss in Carolina in Week 3. They may be short-handed, though, as red-hot receiver Drake London (illness/back) is questionable. If he’s out, Kyle Pitts Sr. would take on even more work in a great matchup.
Let’s take a look at the latest on London’s status and what to expect from Pitts and the rest of the Falcons’ pass-catching options for Week 11.
The Latest on London
Drake London has racked up over 100 yards in four of his last five games, including each of the last two weeks against the Patriots and the Colts. He had three touchdowns and 41.8 fantasy points against the Patriots, and followed that up with 104 yards, a touchdown and 27.4 fantasy points against Indianapolis. He is up to 691 yards and six touchdowns on the season and is averaging 21.4 fantasy points.
London missed Wednesday’s practice due to illness and was listed as limited Thursday due to that same illness and a back issue. While he does seem to be trending in the right direction, he was listed as questionable, which means it’s not a sure thing the he’ll play.
Kyle Pitts Fantasy Football Outlook
Whether London plays or not, Pitts is a good option to consider this week. He has been one of the main targets for starter Michael Penix Jr. this season, racking up 45 catches for 420 yards and one touchdown in his first nine games, averaging 10.3 fantasy points on 6.5 targets per game. He has been even more productive at home, hauling in 24-of-26 targets in four games and producing 12.6 fantasy points.
Last week, he had a rough game in Germany against Indianapolis, with just two catches for 38 yards. He should be able to bounce back against the Panthers, though, since they have allowed tight ends to average over 70 receiving yards a game this season. Last week, Juwan Johnson posted four catches for 92 yards and a touchdown.
Pitts had four catches for 39 yards against in the Panthers in their first meeting this season. He had six targets in that game, while London had five catches on eight targets for 55 yards. If London’s work goes to Pitts, he should be set for a monster PPR week.
A Lack of Other Options
If London is out, one of the reasons that Pitts would get most of the vacated work is that the rest of the Falcons’ receiver room hasn’t contributed much at all this year.
Sixth-year receiver Darnell Mooney has flashed big play potential in the past, and last week, he had eight targets, so there is a little bit of hope that he’s healthy after an injury-riddled season. Even with all those targets, though, he only had one catch for 17 yards. He has just a single reception in each of the last three games and under 20 yards. On the season, he has 13 catches for 190 scoreless yards in his seven games.
Casey Washington has been the team’s third receiver, but has only six catches for 94 yards and wasn’t even targeted in Week 10. David Sills V has a few more targets recently, but only has three catches for 23 receiving yards on the season.
The Bottom Line
If London is out or limited, the other main target for the Falcons in addition to Pitts would be the running backs out of the backfield. Bijan Robinson has been very prolific as a pass-catcher, and most of the Falcons’ passing game would have to be check-downs and short passes with London sidelined. London’s absence would be a huge boost for Pitts, but a huge downgrade for Penix and the overall ceiling of the offense.
The team would also have to rely more heavily on the run game with Robinson and Tyler Allgeier sharing the work in the backfield.
In one-week DFS contests like the NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st] on DraftKings, Pitts is an excellent value at $4,000 if London plays or not. If London does play, but is mostly used as a decoy or is out altogether, Pitts could end up with double-digit targets. Mooney does have some flier potential at $3,700, since there are no other proven options are on the roster, but he also has a very low floor.
