FOXBORO — Of all of the Patriots’ prime receivers, Drake Maye has spent the least period of time with Mack Hollins, a free-agent addition this spring who missed the primary half of coaching camp with an harm.
Hollins and Maye are attempting to make up for misplaced time.
In latest practices, Maye has made a behavior of concentrating on Hollins on downfield throws and contained in the purple zone. Hollins additionally had grabs of 20 and 12 yards of their final preseason recreation collectively, a highway win at Minnesota. After Sunday’s observe, Hollins credited time spent off the sector to serving to construct their connection.
“On the finish of the day, reps are all the time gonna be crucial factor. And you may by no means get sufficient of them, however it’s laborious when (Maye) has to throw X quantity of balls, after which it’s, ‘hey, can I get some after observe?’” Hollins stated. “In order a receiver, it’s reps, however then it’s hanging out within the locker room or going to eat out. These issues matter.
“9 years within the league, I’ve realized these dinners earlier than video games matter. It might sound corny, it could sound like they don’t matter, however they do. They do construct a rapport that interprets to the sector the place it’s identical to (for Maye), ‘Hey, two-minute drill. I may simply — Mack’s over there — throw it and I belief him as a result of we had steaks collectively. You by no means know.”
Previous to signing in New England, Hollins performed for the Eagles (2017-19), Dolphins (2019-2021), Raiders (2022), Falcons (2023) and Payments (2024). Final yr, he caught 31 passes for 378 yards and 5 touchdowns taking part in with reigning league MVP Josh Allen.
Initially Printed:
