Few NFL players have baffled fantasy football analysts more than Taysom Hill. The New Orleans Saints’ do-it-all weapon is nominally listed as a tight end, and he doesn’t wear a red no-contact jersey in practice like the team’s quarterbacks, but that hasn’t kept the Saints from lining him up in the shotgun and asking him to throw.
That extended to Tuesday’s minicamp workout, when Hill went through drills with the quarterbacks and even led a drive on offense during the team session. He also practiced with the tight ends by catching passes, running routes, and throwing hands in the blocking maneuvers. Saints head coach Dennis Allen commented on the position-flexible role for Hill after practice Tuesday.
“That’s kind of been his role since he’s been here,” Allen told BR Proud’s Aileen Hnatiuk. “He’s an offensive weapon and we’re going to utilize him in a lot of different ways.”
Hill logged a career-high 96 rushing attempts in 2022 while also posting his highest rate of yards gained per carry (6.0). His 34 first down conversions were the second-most on the team behind Alvin Kamara. Hill also caught a handful of passes and occasionally moved the chains as a receiver, but he brings value as a passer, too — he completed 13 of 19 pass attempts for 240 passing yards, an impressive rate of 12.6 yards per attempt.
Just 19 passes is a small sample size, but when the Saints dialed up a throw for Hill (usually targeting Chris Olave deep downfield), he made the most of it. Olave caught 5 of his 6 passes from Hill for 96 yards, a rate of 19.2 yards per reception. He averaged 14.5 yards per catch on the season as a whole.
That’s why Hill is still so heavily involved in the Saints offense. He’s an efficient runner, a competent enough receiver to make a play when called upon, and in the right situations he can punish defenses for selling out to stop him on the ground by throwing over their heads. It’s clear by now that he shouldn’t be the focal point of the offense or a starting quarterback, but there’s very much a role for him on this team, even with new additions like Derek Carr, Jamaal Williams, and Foster Moreau in the building.
And it makes sense to keep Hill’s arm fresh in case he’s needed for a larger role. If Carr misses time, Jameis Winston will replace him — assuming he hasn’t been poached by another team in need of a quarterback. That would put either Hill or rookie fourth-round pick Jake Haener in the driver’s seat. As the Saints have learned recently, you can’t have enough quarterbacks. They’ve cycled through NINE different passers since Drew Brees retired: Winston, Hill, Andy Dalton, Trevor Siemian, and Ian Book. They can’t assume Hill’s services won’t be needed again.
