By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
One year after Jalen Mills caught everyone's attention during spring workouts, it seems like the Eagles have a new camp darling turning heads at the NovaCare Complex: fourth-round pick Mack Hollins.
From Philly Sports Network:
On his first day of Rookie mini-camp, Hollins stood out in a good way, with one source telling me “The minute the kid jogged on the field, I couldn’t stop watching him. He caught smoothly, he ran very well, and his cut ability was off the chart, he ran routes like a speedier, smaller wideout. The more I watched him, the more I liked him , the more I wanted to keep watching him. He is coachable and so the things he is flawed at, he seems to listen on. I liked his approach, and if you didn’t know where and when he was drafted, you would think he was one of these top-10 1st round picks. I know it’s only day one, but the Eagles might have a steal in him, they might have found a player who could be a star.”
Before we start sculpting Hollins' bust for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we must remember it was the first day of rookie minicamp. The dude was running around in shorts with numerous players who will never play a meaningful down of NFL football in their life.
Plus, if this information is coming from someone with the Eagles, it makes sense that the team is high on him. Of course they think their fourth-round pick can be a difference-maker.
But still, Hollins was a late-round sleeper for a lot of analysts. Maybe it is because his measurables are off the charts, standing 6-4 and running a 4.53 40 at the combine, but this praise isn't coming out of nowhere. Just look at what a source told NFL.com during the pre-draft process:
"What's strange is this kid is tall and fast so I don't know why he would have been so under recruited. I don't know if he will ever be more than a deep threat and cover guy but those kinds of players make teams."
Combing through various scouting reports on Hollins reveals similar sentiments from numerous outlets, such as Pro Football Focus:
Hollins is a big-time sleeper in this draft. Hardly anyone is talking about him but his tape is extremely impressive. He scored 20 touchdowns in three seasons at UNC, and 15 of them were on deep passes (20-plus yards in the air). Almost all of them looked the exact same, with Hollins blowing past a defender or two, catching it in stride and gliding into the end zone. He’s still a work in progress, as his route-running isn’t perfect. But his game speed and deep-threat ability is so off-the-charts on tape that he has the potential to be a very good NFL receiver.
Or ESPN:
Hollins is a big and physical WR with the speed to stretch the field vertically (20.6 YPC for career). While he only recorded 81 career catches nearly a 1/4 of them went for a touchdown (20). A former walk-on who plays with a chip on his shoulder and was a special teams captain throughout his career (see competitiveness).Had his 2016 season cut short after suffering a broken collarbone in the seventh game of the season. Hollins is one of the more underrated WRs and could end up being a steal for a vertical passing offense in the third or fourth round.
The fact is that it is impossible to tell whether or not Hollins will be a star in the NFL, especially after one day of "practice." But Hollins has seemed to impress everyone who has studied his film, and if it wasn't for a broken bone that prematurely ended his 2016 season, he could've been a much higher draft pick.
Hollins still remains buried on the depth chart behind Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith, Jordan Matthews and possibly Nelson Agholor. However, the rookie was drafted as a project and it could be a few years until he starts to scratch his potential. Superior physical skills simply aren't enough to beat NFL defensive backs. Hollins needs to learn how to run crisp routes all over the field if he wants to develop into a starting role.
But it's May and we are still four months away from the start of the regular season, so maybe some unwarranted hype around a late-round pick isn't the worst thing in the world.
