Taysom Hill “at peace” with jack-of-all-trades role

METAIRIE – In his heart, Taysom Hill is a quarterback.

That’s what he was in high school. It’s what he was in college.

It’s what he was when the Green Bay Packers signed him as an undrafted free agent. And it’s what he was when the New Orleans Saints claimed him off waivers from the Packers five years ago Saturday.

But when the Saints open the season against the Falcons on September 11 in Atlanta, Hill primarily will be a tight end. He’ll be a key player on special teams as he has been since his arrival in New Orleans.

And he’ll make no more than cameo appearances at quarterback.

In fact, it seems unlikely that Hill, who recently turned 32, is ever going to get the opportunity to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.

“This isn’t necessarily what I want, but things aren’t up to me,” Hill said. “I’m willing to do what I need to do to help us win football games. I’m at peace with that, knowing that I’m contributing to us winning games. I love playing and so it creates opportunities for me to add value and be on the field and compete. And I’m good with that.”

When Hill arrived in New Orleans he knew he wasn’t going to compete to be the starting quarterback for the foreseeable future because that job belonged to Drew Brees.

So Hill embraced his role as a special-teams leader and occasional running back/wide receiver/change-of-pace quarterback, all the while studying Brees’ every move in hopes that someday he might have a chance to succeed Brees.

“I’ve never shied away from letting (reporters) know what my hope was, what my expectation was,” Hill said.

Hill finally got an opportunity to compete for the starting job when Brees retired after the 2020 season. It was his best chance – and perhaps his last chance – to be a starting quarterback.

The Saints had signed former Tampa Bay quarterback and No. 1 overall draft pick Jameis Winston before Brees’ final season.

Hill and Winston competed in the 2021 offseason and the preseason to be the successor to Brees.

Winston won. And Hill went back to being the jack of all trades he had been.

Even when Winston suffered a season-ending knee injury with 11 games left in the season, the Saints turned to Trevor Siemien rather than Hill as Winston’s replacement.

But after Siemien lost his first four starts, the Saints started Hill in five of the last six games. He missed the game against Miami because he was on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Hill returned to start the season-ending victory at Atlanta and suffered a liz franc injury to his foot, which required offseason surgery.

Shortly after the season, Sean Payton, who had a vision for what Hill could do when the Saints claimed him and gradually expanded his role, resigned as head coach.

In the spring, Dennis Allen, who was promoted from defensive coordinator to succeed Payton, told Hill that his role would be modified.

He’ll still make cameo appearances as a quarterback and will be a key special teams contributor – but now he’s first and foremost a tight end.

“He’s reacted incredibly well,” Allen said. “It’s not the primary quarterback role, but he’ll still take some snaps from the quarterback position. He’s a really good football player and we want to utilize his skill set – and he can help us win football games.

“I just think that he brings a dynamic element to our offense in all the roles that he plays. When you have a good football player you want to try and find opportunities for you to utilize him and put him in those positions to do things that he does really well.”

When training camp began, Hill found himself assigned to the tight end room rather than the quarterbacks room, where he had been anchored for the previous five seasons.

It meant starting over to some degree. The Saints previously had provided Hill with a superficial understanding of what the tight ends do so he could function when he would occasionally line up as a tight end.

In training camp he took the advanced course.

“I think now there has been an added emphasis of ‘hey, let’s make sure that we’re helping him understand the stuff we’re going to ask him to do and give him the proper technique to be successful doing it,’” Hill said. “I appreciate that.”

Hill said run game coordinator/tight ends coach Dan Roushar started him “at ground zero.”

Lesson one was how to line up in a three-point stance.

“I’ve rushed the punter for a long time,” Hill said, “and that’s a different stance and technique.”

Hill said he’s gaining a deeper appreciation for the challenge of being a tight end. Moving from the primarily mental requirements of quarterback to the primarily physical requirements at tight end requires “a completely different mindset.”

“(Tight ends) have to put their hand in the ground and block a defensive end, but then they’re running a route against a safety or DB so you’re undersized in one element then you’re oversized in the other,” Hill said. “There are so many different defensive fronts and techniques and you’re expected to know all the different sets and what that looks like for you.”

Third-year tight end Adam Trautman said Hill’s perspective on what the quarterbacks expect to see from the tight ends has been helpful to him, just as he has tried to help Hill learn the nuances of the blocking aspect of playing tight end.

“He’s one of the most selfless guys you’re going to be around,” Roushar said. “He’s going to do whatever’s best for our football team.”

Allen said Wednesday that Hill’s ability to be the third quarterback on the roster – behind Winston and Andy Dalton, a long-time NFL starter that was signed in the off-season – factored into the decision to release second-year quarterback Ian Book, a fourth-round draft pick last season who started that game against Miami.

So “quarterback” still has a place on Hill’s cluttered business card, even though it’s not displayed as prominently as he would prefer.

“I don’t take myself too seriously,” Hill said. “I’m an honest guy. I’m up front with all this. I think I’m pretty reasonable.”

Still, Hill admitted, “I would rather throw a touchdown than run one.”