The buzz phrase of Falcons camp has been “positionless football,” a nod to the team’s unique ensemble of offensive talent. New veteran receiver Mack Hollins endorses the approach.
“If it ends up with a ‘W,’ I don’t care if they put me at left tackle or left bench,” he said. “It doesn’t matter as long as there’s a ‘W’ at the end. Of course, I’d love to play every snap. I’d love to be the guy who gets 10,000 yards and touchdowns. But if that doesn’t equate to wins – I play this game to win. I’ve played it long enough to not care about the stats as much as the wins.”
Hollins, a large personality and thoughtful interviewee, jokingly boasted about his own positionless skill set.
“We had a quarterback drill out here, I did do the best,” he said. “My arm motion is probably worst on the team but stats are stats. Long snapper is probably the most proficient thing I can do, other than receiver. … I’ve been the backup long snapper on basically every team I’ve been on.”
Hollins is set to be the Falcons’ No. 2 receiver alongside Drake London. After four seasons of largely unnoted production, Hollins had his best season in 2022 with the Raiders, catching 57 passes for 690 yards and four touchdowns.
The Falcons have a healthy receiver competition on the lower end of their depth chart. Hollins knows what that’s like, having battled for a roster spot most years of his career. He stressed the importance of special teams.
“It’s a tough spot,” he said. “I was there really the majority of my career. Special teams is how I’ve been able to continue to thrive in this league. So if you can’t play special teams, more power to you because that probably means you’re a top-10 pick or something and your pockets are full and you’re well-gifted, but other than that, you better know how to make a tackle or protect somebody who can return or be very fast and return.”
Notes:
- The Falcons officially waived receiver Frank Darby via injury settlement Monday. Darby suffered a hamstring strain in the team’s first preseason game against Miami. A sixth-round pick from Arizona State in 2021, Darby has appeared in 15 games, catching two passes for 29 yards. He logged the vast majority of his snaps on special teams.
- The Falcons had a chippier-than-usual practice Monday as they approach their preseason finale.
“You’re getting closer to the regular season, our fifth week out here; these are the days you find out a lot about yourself and the team,” coach Arthur Smith said. “You’re ready to get to this last preseason game and certainly there are a lot guys ready to get to the regular season. We need the work. It was good. It was good to see what we’re about. We know everybody is irritated and sick of seeing each other. It was a good, spirited practice.”
- Some Falcons players had to run Monday due to penalties. The Falcons, who committed the least number of penalties in the NFL last season, had 13 infractions in their last preseason game.
- When the NFL went to a three-game preseason, it left a gap between the exhibition finale and Week 1. The Falcons face the Steelers on Thursday night, then don’t play again until hosting the Panthers in the season opener Sept. 10. The opportunities for further practices will impact who plays Thursday, Smith said.
“It goes into it, where we think we’re at,” he said. “The guys you know for sure will be out there against Carolina, what do we think they need to do to ramp up? Are we OK with where they’re at? Then it goes into opportunities for other guys. We’re constantly evaluating.”
- Defensive lineman Calais Campbell, 36, returned to practice after receiving a rest day Sunday, as expected.
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