Taysom Hill is a versatile player who is highly valued by New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, and we got a great feel for the role he can play early in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Hill, a former BYU quarterback who is typically used in short yardage situations and to keep defenses guessing, was a huge factor in the Saints’ taking a 10-3 lead over the Vikings in the second quarter. The first thing he did on the drive was run for 11 yards. Then, Hill completed a 50-yard pass to Deonte Harris to set New Orleans up with 1st-and-goal. On the very next play, Hill served as a lead blocker and helped Alvin Kamara get into the end zone.
Here’s the entire sequence:
This drive was all Taysom Hill…
First, he runs for 11 yards…
Then, he throws a 50-yard bomb…
Finally, he delivers the lead block on a TD run #MINvsNO pic.twitter.com/8S3TD5xSZp
— Kevin Boilard (@247KevinBoilard) January 5, 2020
Some have questioned why Payton would ever take a quarterback like Drew Brees off the field, but Hill is a freak athlete who can catch defenses sleeping at any moment. The Saints actually used him in one of the most wild formations we have ever seen during a game against Minnesota last year, so they’re very familiar with what Hill can do.
