Taysom Hill As New Orleans Saints QB1 Could Be Sooner Than You Think

SALT LAKE CITY – Taysom Hill is one of the more intriguing players in the NFL. Some people believe he shouldn’t be a QB. Others, like Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints, would tell you that the former BYU star is a starting quarterback.

When will we see Taysom Hill get his shot as a starting quarterback? It might be sooner than you think.

Saints head coach Sean Payton joined ESPN’s Get Up! on Tuesday and he quietly gave some big news regarding Drew Brees, the future Hall of Famer who is currently QB number one.

"The unique situation with our team and with our quarterback Drew Brees is he's announced he's coming back for his final season."

— Sean Payton on Taysom Hill's future with the Saints. pic.twitter.com/5zDMVQIJQS

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 31, 2020

“The unique situation with our team and with our quarterback Drew Brees is, he’s announced he is coming back for his final season,” Payton said to ESPN.

That is very interesting. Brees earlier this month announced he would be returning to the New Orleans Saints and signed a two-year, $50 million contract to remain in the Big Easy where he won a Super Bowl in 2006.

Payton has said that quarterback number two in 2020 will be Taysom Hill. Which likely means Taysom will have the first shot at being the heir apparent to Brees in 2021. During his interview with Mike Greenberg, Payton once again made it clear that the Saints view Taysom as a quarterback.

“First and foremost, we still view him as a quarterback,” said Payton. “We spent a lot of time this off-season discussing our vision for him this season at quarterback but then also at the ‘F position.’ What I mean by that tight end slash receiver. He’s a tremendous blocker, he’s physical. I don’t think people realize how fast he is. He’s probably one of the three or four fastest guys on our team.

“So, He’ll play that F position. He’ll certainly be involved in the kicking game. It’s one of the things that he takes pride in and is very good at … I think Taysom sees himself as being a starting quarterback in this league and we do too.”

Saints continue to show commitment to Taysom Hill

The Saints issued a first-round tender to Hill when free agency opened up, giving the fourth-year NFL veteran a salary of $4,641,000 in 2020. No other teams issued an offer sheet to Hill so he is going to be a Saint. Honestly, it’s the best for Hill who will continue to play for a coach in Payton who has a track record of finding starting quarterbacks from unlikely sources. While in Dallas as the quarterback’s coach, Payton found Tony Romo and turned him into one of Dallas’ most accomplished QBs ever.

Payton and the Saints will sign a third quarterback this year to allow Hill to continue in the “F position. But if Payton is correct that Brees retires after 2020, it allows Taysom the chance to be the Saints next starting quarterback.

Drew Brees’ future could be in television

Speaking of Tony Romo, television networks are looking to find the next great football analyst similar to Romo. ESPN is eyeing Drew Brees to be their next Monday Night Football analyst. According to a report from Clay Travis of Outkick The Coverage, ESPN has extended an eight-figure salary to Brees to be their next analyst in the booth to replace of Booger McFarland.

If that is the case, Brees playing only one more year in 2020 and leaving behind the remaining money on his two-year contract doesn’t sound so crazy after all.

*****

In three seasons with Saints, Hill has attempted 15 passes for 169 yards. The biggest completion of Hill’s career came this past January during the Wildcard round of the Playoffs where he threw a 50-yard completion to put the Saints in a scoring situation.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.