Pats Pulpit
Even though he has started five games this season and is tied for third on the team with two touchdown receptions, Mack Hollins has been a relatively quiet member of the New England Patriots’ wide receiver group thus far. Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte are the most productive pass catchers on the team through seven weeks, with DeMario Douglas a frequent subject of debate due to his relatively small workload given his status as a former starter.
Hollins, meanwhile, is quietly putting together a quality campaign himself. While it so far has only led to him catching 11 passes for 119 yards and those two scores, he is ranked second on the team in wide receiver snaps on the year and regularly contributing in a positive fashion.
Sunday’s win over the Tennessee Titans was a prime example.
Besides playing 43 of a possible 65 snaps on offense (66%) as the team’s nominal No. 2 wideout, he found himself on the receiving end of two Drake Maye passes to gain a combined 49 yards. Both his yardage total and his snap volume marked a season-high for the offseason pickup. His impact went even further, though, as a deeper dive inside his playing time shows.
Of his 43 snaps, after all, 10 saw him align in-line as a tight end-type operator. His presence on the field on those 10 snaps, as well as his general ability and willingness as a blocker, played a part in the Patriots producing their best rushing output of the season: not counting two kneel-downs to end the game, the team gained 177 yards on the ground versus Tennessee.
Hollins was partially responsible for that number. Not only was he on the field for 21 total run block snaps (another season high), he also had a 4-yard carry in the fourth quarter.
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 31-13 victory at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
Total snaps: 65 | Time on the field: 36:24 | *denotes starter
C Garrett Bradbury* (65; 100%), LG/RG Jared Wilson* (63; 97%), RG Mike Onwenu* (61; 94%), LT Will Campbell* (59; 91%), RT Morgan Moses* (59; 91%), QB Drake Maye* (55; 85%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson* (49; 75%), WR Kayshon Boutte* (46; 71%), TE Hunter Henry* (44; 68%), WR Mack Hollins* (43; 66%), WR Stefon Diggs* (35; 54%), TE Austin Hooper (33; 51%), FB/TE Jack Westover (20; 31%), WR DeMario Douglas (15; 23%), WR Kyle Williams (12; 18%), QB Joshua Dobbs (10; 15%), WR Efton Chism III (10; 15%), RB TreVeyon Henderson (9; 14%), RB Terrell Jennings (9; 14%), LT Vederian Lowe (6; 9%), RT Marcus Bryant (6; 9%), LG/RG Ben Brown (6; 9%)
With Mack Hollins playing a starter-level role once again, the Patriots used their wideouts in the typical fashion. He, Kayshon Boutte and Stefon Diggs are the clear top three at the position, with DeMario Douglas a fourth option primarily used on passing downs. However, both rookies — Kyle Williams and Efton Chism —...
