If it was up to Drew Brees, Taysom Hill would be more than the New Orleans Saints’ gadget player.
Brees was recently a guest on “Up & Adams,” where he discussed his former teammate Hill with host Kay Adams.
“We could sit here and talk for hours about Taysom Hill. I love Taysom Hill. He’s one of my great friends. I’m his biggest fan,” Brees said.
Brees, who retired in 2021, believes a team should have invested in Hill as their starting quarterback.
“To me, had someone seven years ago — I guess when I retired — should have made a commitment to Taysom Hill and said, ‘You know what? We’re going to build an offense around you. We’re going to build a team around you like you’re a quarterback, and we’re going to give you that opportunity.’ And I think he would have been a very successful quarterback in this league," Brees said.
Brees, who was teammates with Hill before he retired, thinks Hill’s ability to play a multitude of positions — tight end, running back and returner to name a few — may have blinded teams to his ability to be a good NFL starting quarterback.
“The unfortunate thing for Taysom Hill is he was such a special player in so many other ways that he brought so much value as this Swiss army knife,” he said. “It was almost like his value at those other positions and in those other roles almost overshadowed the fact that ‘Hey, you could really dedicate yourself to this guy as a quarterback and build this thing around him.’”
Brees said Hill “would have been a really good quarterback in this league for a long time” if he had been given the opportunity.
“I love the guy. He was an incredible teammate. He’s an incredible human, and he deserves everything that comes his way,” he said.
Could Taysom Hill be the Saints’ starting quarterback?
Hill tore his ACL last season and will start this season on the PUP list, according to Pro Football Talk. Spencer Rattler was named the Saints’ starter for Week 1.
Rookie Tyler Shough and Jake Haener, who New Orleans waived and brought back this week, round out the quarterback room.
Adams asked Brees if Hill should get an opportunity to earn the role of QB1 when he comes back.
“There’s no reason he couldn’t play 10 plays a game at the QB position now. It may be hard to get him ramped up. Look, he’s coming off the injury. It’d be hard to literally get him ramped up and say, ‘You’re the starting quarterback,’” he said.
For Brees, winning came first while he was playing. He said that he would tell the Saints offensive coordinator to put Hill in for 10 to 12 snaps if that would help them win.
“Even if you had a premier starter, Taysom Hill could play easily seven to 12 snaps a game at quarterback,” he said. “It’s a defensive coordinator’s nightmare having him back there.”