Taysom Hill Has Shown Everyone He Is An NFL Quarterback

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The big question around New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill has been about his ability to be an NFL starting quarterback.

After filling in for the injured Drew Brees in the Saints’ last three games, Hill has shown that he is capable of leading an NFL franchise.

Brees has not practiced this week and is still recovering from an injury that saw him fracture multiple ribs and have a collapsed lung.

Hill is likely getting his fourth-straight start in New Orleans’ matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on December 13.

Taysom Hill is expected to start his fourth consecutive game at QB for the Saints on Sunday vs. Philly. I'm told his three-game performance as the starter has only bolstered the confidence internally that he is the eventual heir apparent to Drew Brees' job.

— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) December 10, 2020

Another start for Hill means he is playing well. The Saints can rest Brees until he is fully capable and healthy to lead New Orleans on a playoff run.

In his three starts, Hill showed off his skills on the ground with four rushing touchdowns. In his third start against that he finally threw his first-ever NFL touchdown pass.

Hill playing this well could very well lead to becoming the future starting quarterback for the Saints as early as next year. Brees has a deal in place to take a role with NBC Sports when he is done with playing in the NFL. Brees also signed a two-year contract that could keep him in New Orleans for one more season.

Taysom Is Getting More Comfortable

KSL Sports’ Scott Mitchell played for 12 years and noticed a few things about Hill starting at quarterback instead of catching passes, playing special teams, or being a ball carrier. It takes consistency and reps at the position to learn it and become good at being an accurate passer.

“I think the question mark is the accuracy of Taysom Hill’s arm,” Mitchell said.”You’re starting to see him getting comfortable in in in the pocket. There was another throw where he had a guy coming open in the end zone and he and he hit the guy right out of his break in a tight little window but it was on target, and that’s where it takes hills made a massive improvement.”

Accuracy has been somewhat of an issue even going back to his days at BYU where he would muscle a ball and it would be off-target. Getting time under center and only focusing on quarterback play is helping him make those legitimate NFL-caliber throws.

There are going to be skeptics. People will point to the game vs. the Denver Broncos game, in which Hill completed just nine of 16 passes for 78 yards and an interception. Although he rushed for 44 yards and two scores.

That game was an anomaly as the Broncos were forced to start Kendall Hinton, who was a practice squad wide receiver and was only on the team for a short time. He was a quarterback in college and that was all the Broncos had against New Orleans, and passing wasn’t the focus of the Saints’ gameplan.

Winning Is The Most Important Thing

The NFL wants winners and Hill has done that so far as a starting quarterback with his 3-0 record. Each game has been a bit different but he has aided the team to victory. Combine that with throwing touchdown passes, Hill proved he can be one of 32 quarterbacks to lead an NFL team.

Search #SaintsFalcons in the Twitter GIF library for our newest GIFs ⚜️ pic.twitter.com/IvBJueIIBO

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 8, 2020

“He by far exceeded everyone’s expectations. The best thing about Taysom Hill is the reason that Sean Payton got him, and that is a guy that people are drawn to him for whatever reason. His teammates like him. He brings us energy,” Mitchell said. “He brings excitement and when you’re a quarterback, and you can do that, and the guys know if we need a tough yard, we’re going to get it from Taysom Hill.”

“The more he throws, the more comfortable he gets in that offense, the more confidence that his teammate, you know, just his teammates believing that they can win when he’s in there is the biggest battle you face as a quarterback. It goes beyond, you know, all of the finer technical parts of throwing the ball right? Is he reading everything? The guy just has a winning spirit about him.”

Hill has it all right now. He is not getting benched for Jameis Winston. He has thrown touchdown passes, won games, and his teammates like him a lot. This audition at quarterback ended a very long debate over whether Hill can be a successful NFL quarterback and the answer is yes.

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