Taysom Hill was one of three starting quarterbacks on the New Orleans Saints’ roster for the 2021 season. He played five years of college football at Brigham Young University, where he posted unremarkable passing numbers. He threw nearly as many interceptions as TDs as a college quarterback, but had one exciting rushing season as a sophomore in 2013.
The New Orleans Saints signed Taysom Hill as a 27-year-old Undrafted Free Agent in 2017. Hill saw his first game action a year later, and played primarily as a special-teamer his first three seasons. Hill didn’t play more than 25-percent of the team’s snaps until 2020, his year-30 season. Before that season, the Saints surprisingly gave him a 2-year, $21M contract extension. When Drew Brees was injured in a 2020 Week 9 win over Tampa Bay, Jameis Winston finished the game. The Saints were 7-2 at the time, but in another surprising twist, Sean Payton named Hill the next week's starter. To that point, Hill had attempted just five passes on the season and 20 in his NFL career. He did a serviceable job, however, winning three of four before handing the reins back to Brees for a playoff run.
When Brees retired after 2020, Payton gave the starting QB job to Jameis Winston. Under Winston’s leadership, the Saints started 2021 in impressive fashion, arriving at a 5-2 record after a win at Tampa Bay. During that game, however, Winston injured his knee and was lost for the season. Sean Payton trotted out Trevor Siemian, who was unimpressive in his four starts. The Saints went winless with Siemian at the helm. Out of options, Payton turned to Hill. Despite having some of the smallest hands of any NFL quarterback (8 3/4-inches, 2nd-percentile), Hill kept the Saints afloat, leading them to wins in four of his five starts. Hill didn’t have much success passing, putting up just four touchdowns and four interceptions in those games. He posted an exciting 101-yard rushing effort versus Dallas in Week 13, but his rushing tailed off after that. He scampered for just 42 yards per game the rest of the way.
Now with 65 games played in his career, the 31-year-old Hill has amassed eight passing touchdowns versus eight interceptions. He’s posted twice as many scores running the ball and nearly as many receiving.
