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Meet The Prospect: Mack Hollins, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

By Benjamin Solak

Sep 24, 2016; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Mack Hollins (13) throws his hands up after a touchdown in the second quarter against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2016; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Mack Hollins (13) throws his hands up after a touchdown in the second quarter against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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To kick off Day 3 in the NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles made a classic late-round Philadelphia Eagles pick: a high-upside, special teams contributor.

Mack Hollins was a draft crush of mine coming into the weekend. I spoke about him as my WR sleeper pick for the class, starting at about 35:25

A freak athlete who was regrettably held out of testing due to quadricep issues, the 6’4, 221 lb wide receiver with 33 1/4″ arms posted a 4.53 40-yard dash at his pro day.

For comparison, Alshon Jeffery came in at 6’3, 216 lbs, with 33″ arms and a 4.48 40-yard dash. Gordon is actually listed among Mack Hollins’ favorable athletic comparisons via MockDraftable, along with Mike Williams out of Clemson, and some wideout named Josh Gordon.

Have I convinced you that the athletic profile is there for Mack Hollins? Yeah? Good.

The Hollins pick fits particularly well in Philadelphia for two reasons. Firstly, Hollins played on and captained the special teams unit at UNC for four years, having walked on following a legal incident with a teammate. His blend of size and speed make him an ideal gunner on punts and kickoffs, and you just know he’ll dress on gamedays to provide that service for Philadelphia.

Given the crowded receiver core at UNC, Hollins was in a constant competition for playing time, only seeing 16 starts over his 41 games played. He comes in as a raw athletic prospect that needs work in his route tree, and when catching the football. Fortunately, he’ll have at least a year behind Alshon Jeffery, a superior player who wins in similar ways as Hollins. That tutelage will benefit Hollins’ three-year projection

Speaking of which, this pick–just like the Sidney Jones selection–is a future-oriented pick. Hollins won’t necessarily contribute on the offense in Year-1, but his athletic profile suggest he could be a solid WR3/spot WR2 with red zone upside by Year-3

But let’s get into the tape. As alluded to with the Jeffery comp, Hollins wins downfield when the ball is in the air. He excels at tracking the football and using his frame to box out and create leverage through contact, but he wins a clean release off the line, he has the deep speed to burn folks.

After bringing in Shelton Gibson, the speedster out of West Virginia, and showing interest in John Ross, the media confirmed fan suspicions: Philly wanted to bring in a speedy deep threat. Mack Hollins is that speedy deep threat–he’s a sub 4.5 guy when he’s healthy. He’s just also, you know…6’4. I can dig it.

The length on Hollins gives him a great catch radius, but he does allow the football into his body far more often than you’d like. Working on his ability to catch away from his frame will increase his effect in the intermediate levels of the field.

We need to see more plays like that moving forward.

Next: Meet The Prospect: Derek Barnett, Defensive End, Philadelphia Eagles

Overall, Hollins is a high-upside selection that will be an instant special-teams contributor. There is a place for him as a starting boundary wide receiver on this roster in 2018 or 2019 if he can develop his route tree and shore up his hands.

Grade: B+

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