Taysom Hill is a lot of things for the New Orleans Saints, but tight end is not one of them.
That was one of the discussions on SportsTalk this week with Bobby Hebert and Mike Detillier, with a few agreements. Taysom is an important and valuable player for the Saints, but not much about that role is one of a tight end.
"I think the experiment at tight end, I think is over with now," Detillier said. "I think he's gonna play that running back position or he's gonna play that, you know, gadget sort of quarterback where he's gonna power run. But the spot of playing tight end, I think that's over with now."
Listen to the full conversation in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Outside of fantasy football circles, it'd be hard to argue that point. Taysom Hill logged careers highs in total touchdowns (11) and rushing yards (575), but his role as a pass-catcher actually diminished from previous seasons when he was considered a quarterback. Hill logged just 9 catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns on 13 targets.
He logged just 51 snaps in-line at TE in 2022, compared to 45 in 2020 when he started at QB for four games. His biggest snap totals came at quarterback (148), punt return (74) and kick return (71). Head coach Dennis Allen stated prior to the 2022 season that Hill would be working more in the TE room, and his position was even changed on the team's depth chart, but it became clearer and clearer as the season went on that his role was more of a wildcat QB or a running back than anything else. And it worked.
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"Taysom Hill runs like a running back. He can run around you. He can run over you," Hebert said. "And I think as far as purely as the tight end as far as stretching the field, that's maybe asking a little too much."
His biggest impact could be identified in a handful of games he not only was effective in, but closed out himself. That was seen late in a win over the Patriots in 2021, it was seen in a four-touchdown performance in a win over the Seahawks this past season, as well as his work grinding out the clock during a frozen win in Cleveland later in the year.
Whatever you choose to call Taysom Hill going forward, there's one thing everyone can agree on: He's valuable.
"You call it the wildcat and you still run the power plays. It doesn't matter," Hebert said. "We just want the production to continue with Taysom Hill delivering."
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