Eccentric former Eagle Mack Hollins is perfectly fine if you call him a journeyman: ‘At least I got to do it my way.’
Hollins has walked his wayward NFL journey mostly without shoes. The Patriots receiver is also on the verge of being fitted for a second Super Bowl ring.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Mack Hollins stood barefoot on the drab gray carpet at the San Jose Convention Center, surrounded by reporters and cameras, and couldn’t have felt more grounded in the spotlight.
It might have made more sense if the Patriots wide receiver was on one of the risers for Super Bowl LX opening night, considering all the attention the eccentric Hollins received. He’s far from a celebrity on a team lacking in stars, but the journeyman can’t help but stand out wherever he goes.
Whether it’s the cartoonish outfits he wears on game days, his stylish hairdos, or his idiosyncratic practices and beliefs — like hardly ever wearing shoes off the field — Hollins makes an impression. On the gridiron, the ninth-year pro continues to make an impact despite never being a top receiver on any of the six teams for which he’s played.
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Hollins, who spent his first three seasons with the Eagles, has embraced his singular odyssey in the NFL.
“I’m totally fine with that [journeyman] label, whatever it is, because I chose wherever I went — outside of getting released from Philly and picked up by Miami,” Hollins said two days after opening night from a riser (and barefoot) — at the Santa Clara Marriott. “Every choice after that I got to pick. And I always was able to pick where I saw value and they saw value in me. And I’ve learned over the years that people that value you, don’t go where the money’s the best or you think the opportunity is the best.
“Go where it feels the best. And you only learn what feels the best from trial and error. So, yeah, if I’m a journeyman, so be it. At least I got to do it my way.”
Hollins’ way could include bookending his career with Super Bowl victories. He’s one of two players on the otherwise youthful Patriots who have previously won a title — former Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams is the other. (Only former Rams receiver Cooper Kupp has a ring for the opposing Seahawks.)
Hollins won in his rookie season in 2017. He wasn’t targeted as the fourth receiver, but he played 17 snaps and had a few key blocks in the run game as the Eagles beat the Patriots, 41-33, in the Super Bowl LII shootout.
He said he didn’t appreciate how tough it would be to get back to the big game.
“Not at the time. I was like I don’t know why [Tom] Brady is like this big deal,” Hollins said of the seven-time champion quarterback. “It’s not that hard. You just go there. You win three playoff games and you’re like going to get a ring. Literally, did not know it would be eight years before I’d get back to one.”
In that rookie season, Hollins caught 16 passes for 226 yards, including a memorable 64-yard touchdown against Washington on Monday Night Football, and was viewed as a field-stretching prospect. But he suffered a groin injury and surgery sidelined him for all of 2018. He returned the following season, but struggled to return to form.
The Eagles released him in December and the Dolphins claimed him the next day.
“In an ideal world, do I wish I would have had 1,000 yards every year and still be in Philly nine years later?” Hollins said. “Yeah, because then I wouldn’t have had to move my family six times. I didn’t have to like get six new jerseys for my family six times. But it worked out just the way it was supposed to.”
It wasn’t easy. Miami didn’t reach the postseason in any of Hollins’ three seasons in Miami. And he remained a deep reserve at receiver, although he shined on special teams. But signing with the Raiders in 2022 altered his career trajectory.
Hollins flourished in coach Josh McDaniels’ offense and finished behind only All-Pro Davante Adams in receiving with 57 catches for 690 yards and four touchdowns. But he didn’t make the playoffs with the Raiders either, and wasn’t utilized as much when he transitioned to the Falcons the next season.
But he became one of Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s more reliable receivers in Buffalo in 2024, and this season — after being reunited with Patriots offensive coordinator McDaniels — he posted numbers (46 catches for 550 yards and two touchdowns) that approached his career highs.
And perhaps more important, he helped a young group of receivers adjust to McDaniels’ system.
“Some of the younger guys have gravitated toward him and asked him, ‘How do we do this? How do we do that?’ And he’s been great with that,” receivers coach Todd Downing said. “And just the relationship part — getting to know him on a personal level isn’t very hard. I love his authenticity.”
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Rookie Kyle Williams has been one of the receivers Hollins has taken under his wing. He said there’s more to the 32-year old than meets the eye.
“He’s a little odd in his own way, not in a bad way, but in his own way, which everybody is,” Williams said. “But then you get to start knowing him, having conversation and I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s really cool. He’s chill.’ I can chop it up outside with him.
“He’s just been a great brother, a great vet. And if I have a question on any conspiracy theory that I have, I know it’s one person I can ask.”
Hollins can confabulate with the best of them, whether it’s about regenerative agriculture, or his quest to build the world’s largest aquarium — “Big enough so I can swim in it” — or his penchant for going sans footwear.
“I feel like I’m more connected to the ground. As corny as that sounds, and people are like, ‘Oh, you’re such a hippie,’” Hollins said. “I think the body is developed to connect to a lot of things. The same way you can feel energy when you walk in a room with people or the way you feel about something, you can’t put it into writing, but it’s just a feeling.
“And I feel like when I’m connected to the ground or when I walk outside or I get to be outside, I feel better, I feel more connected to the earth, and I feel like my body is less stressed out.”
Williams said Hollins would play barefoot if permitted. He and other Patriots have occasionally followed in his steps.
“I’ve dibbled and dabbled into it,” Williams said. “I think it’s better at home. I’m not comfortable letting my dogs out around 100-some eyes. But when I’m at home, I can walk around and do it faithfully.”
Some Eagles fans might have known about Hollins’ pet snakes or exotic fishes, but their exposure to him was limited. He may be most remembered in Philly for his celebration after that long touchdown vs. Washington in 2017 when he did the then-famous “Floss” dance.
“I still have the dance,” Hollins said. “Every once in a while when somebody needs it, I can pull it out. The backpack Mack never died. He’s just over to the side.”
Hollins is perhaps the NFL’s best embodiment of Walt Whitman’s famous line from “Song of Myself:” I am large, I contain multitudes.
“I think people sometimes will look away from what life is supposed to be because they’re chasing something that isn’t realistic,” Hollins said. “They see the end result. A bodybuilder goes on stage, you see him, you’re like, ‘Oh my goodness. Look at that. Look how strong he is, how his body is sculpted.’ But they skip all the pain he went through to tear his muscles apart and rebuild them.
“Life is simple. It just takes heart to get what you want.”