The New Orleans Saints are, by all accounts, holding a true quarterback competition this offseason. But it's Taysom Hill, not Jameis Winston, that holds the inside track, according to one analyst.
The do-it-all athlete is the likely to choice to win the first crack at replacing Drew Brees in New Orleans, said Chris Simms of NBC Sports in an interview with WDSU.
"My thought it like how they say ‘tie goes to the runner’ in baseball. If it’s a tie or it’s close I think Taysom Hill will get the nod or the advantage, because of, you know, the fact that he’s been there, he’s done his time," Simms said this week. "I do think there’s that intriguing part to Sean Payton about what he can do with him in the offense and everything like that. Yea, I expect it to be him, and then you evaluate from there."
The notion isn't unexpected from Simms, who had already tipped his hand on that expectation in his annual quarterback rankings. He slotted Hill at No. 24 overall, one spot ahead of Winston at No. 25.
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One thing working in Hill's favor is recency. It was Hill who got the starting nod for four games in the 2020 season as Brees recovered from rib and lung injuries suffered in Week 10. It was Winston who finished out a win over the San Francisco 49ers after Brees was hurt, but Hill took over the following week against the Atlanta Falcons, ultimately leading the Saints to three wins before a loss on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 14. Brees returned the following week in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and started the remainder of the season.
But it's Winston who holds the top-shelf quarterback pedigree, selected No. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2015 draft after a championship career at Florida State. Winston joined the Saints as a backup in the 2020 season and played sparingly, his lone touchdown pass coming on a trick play reverse pass to Tre'Quan Smith in the playoff loss to the Bucs.
"Jameis has incredible, high-end talent. I mean, if you took him top 30-40 plays from a few years ago, you could put them up there with Mahomes and the best quarterbacks in football and go ‘look at this. This is unbelievable. Wow,’ " Simms said. "But the problem is, you could take his bottom 30 plays and go ‘this is the worst 30 plays in you’ll see in football this year.’ And there’s been no bridging of that gap consistently. And that’s really the big question. I don’t doubt that he can have that type of resurgence, especially with a guy like Sean Payton. And that’s where the battle is awesome."
That quarterback depth chart shouldn't be expected to be etched in stone, either. While Simms, the son of Super Bowl champion and longtime broadcaster Phil Simms, expects Payton to land on Hill early on -- that evaluation will be important to watch.
"If it’s shaky through the first few weeks, four-five weeks, maybe [Payton] makes the switch then," Simms said. "But I think ... whoever starts Week 1, he’ll give them their due time to let them get comfortable and let his formula of offense really work around that guy."
That competition has already begun throughout the offseason, but it will truly gain steam once the Saints begin training camp practices in July. Both Hill and Winston, along with Payton, spoke at minicamp earlier in June and expressed confidence in those involved. Most conversations focused on effective leadership from both and mutual support.
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"I think the key is getting as much of the work and evaluation reps that you can for both of them," Payton said. "That'll be a challenge, but we'll find a way to do it.”
The Saints kick off the three-game preseason slate on Aug. 14 against the Baltimore Ravens on the road. The 2021 regular season will begin Sept. 12 at home against the Green Bay Packers.