The News, Now
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**_Key developments across the organization, from the front office to the coaching staff and everything in between_**
This was a big week for headlines on skill players in Atlanta. From Drake London to Zachariah Branch, from Kyle Pitts to Austin Hooper, pass catchers and their role in this offense were the talk of the town.
Let's start with London, a player who everyone can see has the size, strength and overall length to be a dominant receiver in this league. But there's more to what makes London special than simply meets the eye. It's the one aspect of his makeup that has propelled him into the spotlight as one of the best receivers in the game today. What's more, it's perhaps the most underrated and most overlooked thing about London.
_"I try to pride myself on not really taking too long to mesh or gel with a quarterback," London said. "I take pride in that."_
Speaking of London, he makes up 1/3 of a core three of skill players in Atlanta. The other two being Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts.
_"He's a great veteran for us right now," offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said. "He is pushing the guys around him. You know, obviously, you've seen him have success, but we're excited for all the different ways to use him. Kyle's a great example of the buy-in being at an extremely high level right now."_
This trio of London, Pitts and Robinson makes up an offensive core Ian Cunningham and Kevin Stefanski spent the offseason building around. Throughout the last two weeks of media availabilities, the group has shared their thoughts on the complement of players now around them in Atlanta's offense.
_"Atlanta targeted role-specific additions around its offensive stars," [Tori McElhaney wrote](/Atlanta%20targeted%20role-specific%20additions%20around%20its%20offensive%20stars,%20and%20early%20feedback%20from%20OTAs%20suggests%20the%20strategy%20is%20paying%20off.), "and early feedback from OTAs suggests the strategy is paying off."_
One of those additions is rookie receiver Zachariah Branch. Just last week, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa likened Branch's skillset to that of one of his own former teammates, Jaylen Waddle. [Will McFadden dove into the film to discern how much that comparison truly lives out.](https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/tua-tagovailoa-jaylen-waddle-zachariah-branch-film-comparison)
_"He's a guy you can give the ball to, whether it's in space, running routes, but we see him with a little bit bigger route tree than maybe you got to see on Saturdays in college," Falcons pass game coordinator Tanner Engstrand said of Branch. "As he continues to get acclimated, we hope to see that continue to grow."_