The Buffalo Bills and their wide receiver room was an area many were watching heading into this offseason. The first move ended up being Mack Hollins.
The 30-year-old has been in the NFL since he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with a fourth-round pick (North Carolina) in 2017. He’s gone on to play for the Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, and most recently, the Atlanta Falcons.
Throughout his career, the NFL has gotten to know him. Now Buffalo should too.
With that, here are 14 things to know about the new Bills wide receiver:
The basics
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Hollins, a large 6-foot-4 target, has appeared in 95 career games (27 starts) and has recorded 131 catches for 1,691 yards and 10 touchdowns. Statistically, 2023 was his worst season (30-251-0), but a year prior was his best (56-690-4).
As for his career against Buffalo: He has one catch for three yards in five games.
This quote after losing to the Bills
Speaking of the Bills, Hollins likes to give a good quote… or it’s just a talent he has.
While he was with the Dolphins, his team lost to the Bills 35-0. His reflection on it was an all-timer (in a NSFW manner).
“Honestly? I’d just say we got our f—– a– beat,” Hollins said.
The full response can be found in the clip below:
Dolphins team captain Mack Hollins shares his message to fellow offensive players about last week’s 35-0 loss to the Bills.
Don’t listen if you have sensitive ears. pic.twitter.com/yp9KyCuchF
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) September 24, 2021
A thing for animals
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Hollins has some takes on animals. According to his bio on the North Carolina Athletics website, he likes to collect exotic animals–He has at least three snakes. His dream job is to open a world renowned aquarium.
“I’ve always been fascinated with animals,” Hollins said. “Because the only thing they worry about is survival. So everything they do is for a purpose.”
In addition, there’s his thoughts on cats via The Athletic.
“I hate cats. cats will steal your soul. Never trust a cat. The small ones? No. Never look them in the eye,” Hollins said.
Will do the dirty work
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Hollins might not be a No. 2 wideout, but he’s going to do anything for the team. When he’s a receiver, he’s willing to block. Pro Football Focus graded him the 25th best blocker among all wideouts in the NFL in 2023.
On top of that, Hollins has played a significant role on special teams in every one of his NFL stops. He’s very prideful in that.
“In my mind I know I can play (special) teams anywhere in this league, I’ve proven that over the years,” Mack said via The Athletic. “Offensively, you couldn’t turn on the tape and say that I’d proven myself to be a guy that can consistently be an offensive contributor. I wanted to earn my spot like I’ve done every step of my life.”
Why he'll probably like wings
(USAT)
Another Hollins hot take: He likes to eat with his hands, so that’s why he will probably like chicken wings. Hollins said in the prior mentioned article with The Athletic that eating with utensils “makes you soft.”
“If you can’t eat it with your hands, you shouldn’t be eating it,” he said.
Barefoot Mack
One could assume he wears cleats on game day. The NFL has a rule on that… probably. But he does not like shoes. So much so, he gets thrown out of places for not wearing them.
“Hate shoes. Hate that I have to wear these,” Hollins previously said. “I feel very uncomfortable in them. When I’m back in Florida, I’ll get kicked out of grocery stores. Lot of Instacart.”
Hollins has noted going into an Apple store while shoeless as well, for those curious.
And let’s see him try this one in December in Orchard Park:
A famous sideline dust up
Hollins had this sideline interaction with quarterback Desmond Ridder last season. Not the best look, but he’s an emotional guy and the Falcons offense was often bad last year. On top of that, Atlanta was being blown out at the time:
dude, mack hollins wanted none of this desmond ridder high five after he missed him on the post pic.twitter.com/mxd4Vg14XV
— Austin Gayle (@austingayle_) October 1, 2023
Down for a trick play
Hollins caught this trick play last year… which should’ve probably been a touchdown if it wasn’t underthrown:
Attended a military academy
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Once upon a time, Hollins attended military school at Fork Union Academy, a post-high school graduate program. He was there for three months.
That was described by The Athletic:
The student-athletes at Fork Union saw that motto posted above the locker room every day toward the end of their grueling schedule. They’d already woken up at 6 a.m., marched in a military uniform, went to class, had foot drill after class and then had to be able to perform at a high level on the practice field. It was difficult, but the results — hundreds of alums have landed college scholarships, over 100 have played in the NFL and 12 were first-round picks — were proof that it worked. Hollins was on board from the jump.
An interesting captain choice
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Hollins puts the work in, you can’t say he doesn’t. Former teammates have dubbed his post-practice run he goes on each day as the “Mack Mile.” Despite all the interesting facts about him, he’s generally well received wherever he goes. Raiders teammates talked him up, but those with the Dolphins went a step further: As a backup, he was named a team captain.
And this is probably music to Sean McDermott’s ears:
“I’d rather have zero caches in a win than 10 catches in a loss,” Hollins said to NJ.com. “Yeah it’s exciting to have catches and be back and know that I can do it in a game but to go down and lose that game, that’s all in the trash.
Was previously cut
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What a motivating factor this must have been. Yes, Hollins was a fourth-round pick of the Eagles… but he was cut in 2019 by them.
Seaon-ending injury
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Hollins does have some slight history with injuries. In college, he had a collarbone issue end his senior year early. Then in 2018, his second year in the pros, Hollins missed the entire season after having surgery to repair a torn groin suffered in training camp.
Will stand up for teammates
Hollins is ready to stand up for his boys. After a cheap shot once upon a time while with the Dolphins, he jumped in to defend a teammate and was eventually ejected. This was no little pushing fest either:
Dolphins not happy about Jakeem Grant getting hit twice on cheap shots. Coming to his defense. pic.twitter.com/rThO3i3CBF
— Will Manso (@WillManso) December 6, 2020
A close friend on the Bills
(Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
Mitch Trubisky and Hollins were college teammates. They also both entered the NFL in 2017.
“That’s my guy. I still talk to him a little bit,” Hollins said to the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2019.
