49ers mock NFL Draft: 5 first-round targets for San Francisco

4 of 5

Southern California Trojans wide receiver Drake London (15) Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

. Wide Receiver. Trojans . Drake London. 2. player. 808

49ers NFL Draft Target No. 2: Wide Receiver Drake London, USC

Even if the Niners are able to turn Brandon Aiyuk’s career around sooner than later, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan shouldn’t completely avoid restocking the wide receiver room altogether.

Both because of the lack of proven depth and the need to surround Trey Lance with weapons.

At some point, teams simply need to gamble on sheer specimen-like players, and few epitomize that more than USC wide receiver Drake London, who at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, has the build of a lean tight end with the yards-after-the-catch ability primed to thrive in Shanahan’s offense.

True, a preferred Shanahan-type wideout might be Ohio State’s Chris Olave, who has the speed necessary to get behind defenses.

But even looking at the surface-level stats of London, it’d be hard not to get excited about the idea of adding London to San Francisco’s offense:

Drake London Receiving & Rushing Table
		Receiving	Rushing	Scrimmage
Year	School	Conf	Class	Pos	G	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Plays	Yds	Avg	TD
*2019	USC	Pac-12	FR	WR	8	39	567	14.5	5	0	0		0	39	567	14.5	5
2020	USC	Pac-12	SO	WR	6	33	502	15.2	3	0	0		0	33	502	15.2	3
2021	USC	Pac-12	JR	WR	7	79	1003	12.7	5	1	2	2.0	0	80	1005	12.6	5
Career	USC					151	2072	13.7	13	1	2	2.0	0	152	2074	13.6	13

Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
Generated 10/26/2021.

At best, a player like London won’t slip any further than the late 20s of the 2022 NFL Draft, meaning the 49ers would have to act aggressively if they wanted to target him.

But if fortune favors the bold, London’s long-term potential could certainly make it worthwhile.