If there was a player on the Raiders to benefit from defenses having to pay attention to Davante Adams, it was Darren Waller or even Hunter Renfrow… or, so we thought.
Mack Hollins has so far matched Waller in targets and touchdowns, outpaced him in receptions by one, and by yards 240-to-171. He now warrants serious consideration as a weekly fantasy streamer.
Derek Carr has routinely had receivers that hadn’t quite established themselves in fantasy lineups, like Zay Jones, Tyrell Williams, and Nelson Agholor. Could Hollins separate himself from that group somehow?
Now in his fifth season, he had never separated himself enough in previous years so much that he’d never started more than three games in a season, and he already has a career-high in season-long receiving yards this year.
Hollins entered the league with the size and speed to make a team but was still a very raw route runner, and as PFF put it:
“No matter what the 40 time says, Hollins can and will run right by defenders with a long stride and once he’s at full speed it’s hard for anyone to catch him.”
Thus far, his value came as a deep threat and on special teams.
But as a fellow wide receiver, Mack’s been able to feed off of Davante Adams and learn “how to take the little knowledge that he gives me and turn it into my game.”
Perhaps that’s an area where Hollins has an advantage over Waller. Regardless, after going 8-158-1 against the Titans in Week 3, Mack is in the spotlight, as we sit back and see if he can bring more than the history of middling WR2s that Carr has traditionally had, who struggled to produce enough to start in most fantasy lineups.
And now, chances are if he’s on your waiver wire, he’s going to cost a pretty FAAB. To continue to produce even close to this level would be anomalous, but not out of the question.
The Raiders are 0-3. Over the last two weeks, defenses (the Cardinals and Titans, not lockdown defenses btw) have been able to limit Adams to 48 yards receiving.
You can’t stop everything. But, if I’m an opposing defensive coordinator and letting Hollins get his while minimalizing Adams gets my team a W, why fix what isn’t broken? It will be interesting to see if this continues to be the type of outcome.
Keep up with The Wolf’s Rest of Season Big Board and Rankings, updated weekly, to see if Mack cracks the ranks of FLEX consideration. Hollins checks in at WR59, above the likes of Darnell Mooney and Josh Palmer, on our Week 4 Rankings.
