North Carolina Tar Heels: Mack Hollins and the Unknown
The North Carolina Tar Heels will have several players drafted in the NFL Draft starting 4/27 and hopefully one of those will be Mack Hollins.
Nearing draft day, most attention spent on anyone who wore the North Carolina Tar Heels uniform has been devoted to Mitch Trubisky. However, Trubisky is only one of a number of Tar Heels hoping to be drafted. Some of the others include both of his running backs, his center, and three of his wideouts. That does not even touch the defensive side of the ball.
One of the three wideouts is Mack Hollins. Hollins had a great rise from walk-on special teams ace to deep threat who was still a special teams ace. Hollins provided the Heels with a true over the top threat that they had not had since maybe Dwight Jones. It changed coverages and opened up other things in the offense. Teams had to respect the Heels just deciding to pull the trigger when Mack was out there.
That is why Hollins’ abbreviated senior season hurt so much. With Hollins gone, teams stopped worrying so much about the deep ball. Safeties could come up for run support. The Heels were stuck with trying to sneak Ryan Switzer or Austin Proehl around coverage rather than running by it.
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Hollins’ lost season may also affect where he is drafted next week. Another full season of work could have solidified his status in the draft. Instead, Hollins is banking on the hope that he can return to last year’s form at will.
In the meantime, he can still be counted on for his special teams skills. He has beefed up to about 220 pounds, so he is basically a tall safety when covering kicks. It also makes him a big receiver for quarterbacks to throw to as well. Hollins started to show some route diversity but that was right before his injury.
Teams are talking to Hollins though. The Houston Texans had him down for a visit this past week. Houston is a team that wants to take some pressure off of DeAndre Hopkins and a deep threat like Hollins could be a way to do it. Hollins carries a fourth round grade at the moment, but all that suggests is that he will be drafted somewhere.
Next: Mitch Trubisky Not From Nowhere
I have a feeling that Hollins will have to earn his way through the league. That will be fine with him, since that is what he is used to doing. Make yourself indispensable as a special teams maven and then they will try to do other things with you. After all, that is what got Mack onto the field in the first place.