As Mack Hollins takes his seat in the Patriots team meeting room, it’s typically in the front row next to quarterback Drake Maye.
The veteran wide receiver isn’t ready to credit his seat selection into his on-field chemistry with his quarterback, but it’s apparent Hollins has earned Maye’s trust.
“I think that the quarterback knows he’s going to be in the right spot when he’s supposed to be there,” head coach Mike Vrabel said.
Last season, Maye completed 70 percent of his passes in Hollins’ direction
— the 19th-best mark for any wide receiver in football. Much of that production came in the intermediate area of the field, where the 6-foot-4 receiver was again one of the most efficient receivers in the NFL, with his size working to his advantage.
“He’s obviously big in the run game, but I think Coach [McDaniels] rewards him with play-action off it. So he always says, ‘Just throw it to me on the in-cuts.’ He loves [that],” Maye said.
Despite ending last season on injured reserve, Hollins put together one of the best seasons of his career posting 46 catches for 550 yards.
The chemistry the two former UNC Tar Heels developed will be needed for the Patriots in the upcoming weeks after star wide receiver A.J. Brown landed on injured reserve with to a high-ankle sprain, knocking him out for at least the team’s next four games.
After leading the team in receiving during the season opener, Hollins is projected to see the biggest uptick in snaps in Brown’s absence.
“It’s the National Football League. They’re going to play 11 guys out there on offense, no matter who’s up, who’s down,” Hollins said. “Obviously, A.J. is a great player, and we would love to have him, but he’s not there, so there’s nothing you can do but dress 11 and get ready to work.
“We’re all ballplayers. It’s not like we can’t do anything without A.J. Like I said, we’d love to have A.J. out there, but ships keep sailing.”
The expanded workload is one Hollins is ready for.
“Kind of a ‘I told you so’ to myself. Like the work eventually pays off,” Hollins said. “You don’t know when it is. It might not be exact at the time you wanted it to be, but if you put in the work, eventually it’ll pay off.”
