Mack Hollins makes most of opportunity with Raiders

In the most classic of Las Vegas ways, Mack Hollins sized up the Raiders’ situation in March and did what so many others have done in this city.

“He bet on himself,” quarterback Derek Carr said.

And so it was that a full-time NFL special teams ace who moonlighted as a wide receiver during stints with two teams in the past four years landed with the Raiders on a one-year deal, then carved out an important role as one of Carr’s most trusted receivers.

Hollins didn’t make any demands before agreeing to move on from Miami, where he played the past two seasons with the Dolphins. He just wanted an honest answer from the Raiders to a simple but crucial question: Could he count on an open mind about earning a prominent role?

Or, as Carr put it: “He wanted a chance.”

No lies told.

“That was really the reason I came here,” Hollins said. “Talking to Josh (coach McDaniels) and Zig (general manager Dave Ziegler) and EB (wide receiver coach Edgar Bennett), my biggest thing was that I just wanted an opportunity. … And that’s what they gave me.”

Given that chance, Hollins has flourished. Through 14 games, the 29-year-old has career highs in starts (13), targets (85), catches (51), and yards (628). To put that in perspective, his previous high in catches was 16 with the Eagles in 2017 and the Dolphins in 2020

“Hopefully, I’ve made the most of it,” Hollins said.

That would be an understatement.

“We’ve needed him, especially with all the injuries we had,” Carr said. “We’ve needed him in big moments, and I found someone I trust.”

He also has continued to be a special teams’ force, coming up time and again with big plays — like hustling down the field Sunday against the Patriots to down AJ Cole’s punt at the New England 2-yard line.

And when the Raiders needed a last line of defense on the Patriots’ final play from scrimmage, they trusted Hollins to play safety. That was his vantage point when the Patriots went rogue with two laterals after time expired, the last one ending up in the hands of Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones, who returned it 48 yards for a game-winning touchdown.

In fact, Hollins was in position to make a tackle.

“He’s a good special teams player, so he would’ve been all right,” Carr said.

The 6-foot-4-inch, 221-pound Hollins was a training camp and preseason standout for the Raiders, and when tight end Darren Waller and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow missed significant time with injuries, he seized his chance to earn Carr’s trust.

That includes his critical fourth-down grab to extend the Raiders’ game-tying touchdown drive late in the game against the Patriots, and his 13-yard catch on the next play. He also went low to come up with a 5-yard TD reception from Carr in the second quarter.

“He worked really hard for it, and he got it,” Carr said of Hollins’ ascension. “He hasn’t been absolutely perfect, but he’s made some really big plays. I found someone that will do the right thing more times than not and come down with the ball for me.”

Not that Hollins takes any of it for granted.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever felt like, ‘Oh, I’ve arrived,’ ” Hollins said. “It’s always constant work. That’s just how this league is. Constant competition. Getting the feeling that you’ve arrived, that’s probably when you’re on your last leg.”

On the other hand, his belief in himself continues to grow.

“I feel confident when I’m on the field,” Hollins said. “Every time I’m out there, I feel like Derek trusts me. The guys trust me that (I’ll do my job).”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.