FOXBORO — The Patriots held a 75-minute walkthrough on Thursday, so not much action to report, but there was news. Mack Hollins, an offseason free agent pickup who’s been on the PUP list since the start of camp, is off PUP and was on the field at least for the walkthrough.
The 6-foot-4 Hollins spent last season with the Bills, catching 31 passes and emerging as a core special-teamer. He had his best season with the Raiders in 2022 when Josh McDaniels was Vegas’ head coach, pulling in 57 passes for 690 yards.
Hollins’ size, special teams value and recent success with McDaniels point to him being a virtual lock for the roster. Most teams keep a maximum of six receivers. With Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Hollins as shoo-ins, that means Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker and Efton Chism are the five guys fighting for two spots.
Chism, who was a frequent target during minicamp and the OTAs when players like Diggs, Hollins and Polk weren’t taking part in everything, has kind of landed where an undrafted rookie would be expected – down in the pecking order.
That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s cooked for making the 53. He’ll probably get a lot of run in the preseason games. And it definitely doesn’t mean his career is cooked either.
The player Chism’s been studying extensively this offseason – Danny Amendola – kicked around with the Cowboys and Eagles for two seasons before he landed with the Rams in 2009 and started a career that would see him finish with 617 catches for 6,212 yards and 57 touchdowns in the regular season and another 57 catches for 709 yards and six TDs in the playoffs. Good role model.
