Jacob

Hollister

He’ll be the fill-in for Darren Waller. Hollister was on Minnesota’s practice squad and spent most of this offseason with the Raiders before being let go at last cuts. He’ll back up Foster Moreau and likely doesn’t have any fantasy value at this point.

The team placed Hollister on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury earlier this week. His release allows him to sign somewhere else once fully recovered. Hollister was a productive backup in Seattle, but his 2021 stint with the Jags was unsuccessful. He caught just nine passes across seven games.

After two years in Seattle where he produced a total of 66-558-6 across 27 games, Hollister signed with the Jaguars just ahead of Week 1 last year. He caught just nine balls for 55 yards and a score in seven contests. Hollister played for new coach Josh McDaniels in New England in 2017-18 and will compete for a job behind Darren Waller and Foster Moreau.

Hollister has been phased out of the offense with Dan Arnold now in the mix. Arnold will push for an every-down role and low-end TE1 numbers if the Jags can make this a competitive game.

Henderson has reportedly been on the trading block since August. With Carolina needing secondary help after losing Jaycee Horn indefinitely to a foot injury, the Panthers made the move, dealing Arnold to Jacksonville. The Jags lost James O’Shaughnessy (ankle) for at least a few weeks and started journeyman TE Jacob Hollister Sunday against Arizona. Arnold should immediately step in as the team’s top pass-catching tight end in an offense that made O’Shaughnessy fantasy viable for the season’s first couple weeks. Arnold has flashed when given the chance. He had seven catches for 84 yards in three games with the Panthers. Rookie Tommy Tremble -- who caught a 30-yard pass and scored on a short rushing attempt in Week 3 -- profiles as Carolina’s pass-catching tight end after Arnold’s departure. The Darnold-to-Arnold era was short lived.

Jacksonville activated Hollister ahead of their Week 3 game following James O’Shaughnessy’s Week 2 ankle injury. Hollister had an early drop against Arizona that led to an interception inside the Cardinals’ ten yards line. The Jags coaching staff didn’t hesitate to use Hollister after the gaff -- he ran 27 pass routes on the day, tenth most among all tight ends in Week 3. No other Jaguars tight end ran a route. Hollister has some deep-league appeal in a Week 4 matchup against the Bengals. O’Shaughnessy is expected to miss more time with the ankle.

Jacksonville is the league’s most tight end-needy team after losing James O’Shaughnessy to a long-term ankle injury in Week 2. Burton, 29, after a career season in Chicago in 2018, was hardly used at all while struggling through injuries in two years with the Colts. He would be the Jags’ test pass catching tight end if he were to sign with the team. For now, Luke Farrell and possibly Jacob Hollister will take on pass-catching duties while O’Shaughnessy recovers.

No team in the league had a greater tight end need than Jacksonville, and they have lucked into a signing who caught 66 balls over the past two years in Seattle. Hollister could immediately assume a pass-catching role in the Jags’ offense, but it is obviously difficult to forecast any re-draft value. Perhaps Hollister could develop enough of a role that he becomes a streamer/price fitter in DFS.

We’ve come a long way from Hollister potentially taking Dawson Knox’s starting spot to Hollister failing to make Buffalo’s 53-man roster. The Bills will roll with Knox and Tommy Sweeney as their top-two tight ends entering the regular season. Hollister, who had intermittent fantasy relevance in two years with the Seahawks, will land on a roster. It’s also possible, as noted by The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia, that the vested veteran is re-signed by the Bills following final cuts. This move would help the Bills avoid season ending IR for an injured player. Hollister had four catches for 53 yards in three preseason games this month.

Buscaglia said Hollister’s athleticism -- he had an 84th percentile burst score at the 2017 combine -- and his familiarity with Josh Allen -- who played with Hollister at Wyoming -- could position him to take over as Buffalo’s primary pass catching tight end in 2021. Knox disappointed the Bills and fantasy managers in 2020, commanding a meager 9 percent target share in nine games he played. He ended up catching 24 of 47 targets in the Bills’ wildly productive passing attack. Functioning as the Seahawks’ starting tight end from Week 7-17 in 2019, Hollister scored the 12th most tight end fantasy points, averaging 5.9 targets per game. He’ll be a popular late-round pick or waiver wire add if Knox falls out of favor this summer.