Bills WR Mack Hollins: Shoes optional, production plausible

New Buffalo Bills WR Mack Hollins made headlines for going barefoot, but the real story will be what he can do with cleats on between the lines.

Jul 24, 2024; Rochester, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins (13) catches a pass during training camp at St. John Fisher University. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Mack Hollins started getting noticed immediately at Buffalo Bills training camp not for what he was doing, but for what he wasn't: wearing shoes. While being barefoot around St. John Fisher University may be how he got his foot in the door for many in Bills Mafia, Hollins really wants to make an impression with Buffalo for what he does in cleats.

The former fourth-round pick joined the Bills on a one-year deal in free agency after a down year in Atlanta, where he had 18 catches for 251 yards. Despite that, he is rolling the dice on his abilities to bounce back to his 2022 form in Las Vegas, where he racked up 57 receptions for 697 yards and four touchdowns. That mentality is something he has carried with him his entire life.

"I've always bet on myself throughout my career," Hollins told reporters Sunday afternoon. "I left Philly and went to Miami. I could have taken more in Miami but had a lesser role, but I bet on myself to show I could play receiver in this league, so I bet on myself and went to Vegas and showed that I could play receiver. I always bet on myself."

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In Buffalo, that gamble means being part of a revamped wide receiver room that now features Hollins in addition to signees Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chase Claypool, first-round pick Keon Coleman, and holdover Khalil Shakir, among others. Hollins sees his versatility as an asset under second-year offensive coordinator Joe Brady. "Wherever Joe wants me, I can throw too... I'll do deep balls. I can run underneath stuff. If I need to be in the run game, so be it. If there is a W at the end of the day, that is all I care about," added Hollins.

That versatility saw the University of North Carolina product line up all over the field for the Falcons. In 2023, he played 150 snaps wide to the right, 96 wide to the left, 78 in the slot, 17 inline, and even found himself in the backfield twice. Lining up everywhere on the field will give him more shares of the passing pie, but it's the selflessness he and the entire WR group bring to the table that he believes is most important.

"I think because no one cares who eats, as long as everyone has a plate," Hollins said. "It doesn't matter if so-and-so's plate is better today; we know that at some point your plate will be big. You have to be ready to eat when it comes. That is Joe's [Brady] philosophy is that everybody eats, but that only works if everyone eats only when no one cares who eats. If people complain, it doesn't work out."

Bills Wide Receiver Mack Hollins gets ready to receive a pass. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and

That mentality stretches into how he feels snaps will be dispersed under Brady. "In my mind, it doesn't matter if guys are in their first year or everybody was a ten-year vet on this team. It is training camp; everybody is competing, and we'll find out who is going to be the best," believes Hollins.

Hollins is also joining a team with the best quarterback he's ever played with in Josh Allen, a player that he came up short against often during his time in Miami.

"Gunslinger!" Hollins quipped about Allen. "He is the man. He can sling it. Obviously, I have on the other side of Miami watching him sling the rock for touchdowns. Now I get to be on the good side of it, and it's been great. Also, the way that he works. The intentionality he has when he is out there. He is a fun, playful guy, but he takes the game very seriously, and I respect that about him, and that is why he is the player that he is."

We can't finish a feature story on Mack Hollins without a few words on his barefoot bias, so why does he do it? "Strength of the foot, strength of the knee, strength of the ankle. Free electrons from the body, so you feel more grounded. You're cleaner. You move faster. You strengthen the whole body, so your knee doesn't have to take so much pressure, and your ankle is more developed. Shoes are a tool. You wouldn't walk around with a hammer just because you might nail something every once in a while. Why walk around in shoes just because you might step on something every once in a while?"

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As far as Hollins' coaches are concerned, they love him and they love his antics. "Probably one of my favorite people I’ve ever met," said Joe Brady. "I'm becoming more grounded because of him. I was walking out barefoot yesterday. Now there are 10 other guys barefoot. That speaks about who he is; guys want to follow him," he added. When it comes to who Hollins is on the field, "After practice, he just doesn't want to stop; he has so much energy. I love his style of play and the way he plays. His personality is so fun. We embrace that in Buffalo. We want guys to be themselves. I hope the city of Buffalo enjoys him walking in the snow barefoot... Mack Hollins is going to be a stud for us on the field and off."

Hollins' lively antics aren't limited to being grounded; he's taken flight on several highlight-level catches already in camp and started a minor tussle by throwing a ball at Kaiir Elam during practice. He quickly laughed it off, but it got the defense's attention.

Buffalo football fans will get their first chance to see Hollins and the Bills in a game-like atmosphere for the Return of the Blue and Red game on Friday, August 2nd, at 5:30 inside Highmark Stadium.

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