Who is going to be the New Orleans Saints’ starting QB? Could Taysom Hill show enough for Sean Payton to give him the nod over Jameis Winston? Well, it may depend on what Payton is looking for out of his starting signal-caller. There’s also a chance, because Payton is never one to shy away from making incendiary decisions, that he goes with a 2QB system.
Winston and Hill: The Battle for Saints starting QB
There might not be a more frustrating, or depending on affiliation, comically entertaining quarterback battle in training camp than Winston vs. Hill. One thing is certain — don’t expect any dull moments when either is on the field.
Winston is a former No. 1 overall pick out of Florida State. He won the 2013 Heisman Trophy after leading FSU to an undefeated season and a BCS championship. At the time, he was the youngest Heisman winner ever.
Winston was, and still is, a pocket passer. He’s not particularly athletic, and he certainly doesn’t pose much of a threat to shake a free rusher and pick up yards with his feet. However, he possesses a plus arm and solid processing ability…kind of.
By contrast, Hill went undrafted in the 2017 NFL Draft after spending five seasons at BYU. As a Cougar, Hill suffered major lower-body injuries in consecutive seasons. He is unbelievably athletic, particularly for his size. He weighed in at 230 pounds at the NFL Combine, and he ran a 4.44 40-yard dash. That’s after the two serious injuries at BYU.
Their first preseason performances
How did each fair in their preseason opener, and what does it mean going forward?
Taysom Hill
Hill started, so that’s where we’ll start. And much like New Orleans in August, he came out of the gates hot. Hill was on target early, with 3 passes going to his favorite target, wide receiver Marquez Callaway.
Hill’s confidence seemed high. He made a wonderful play as protection broke down, rolling right and sneaking a ball over Marcus Peters to Callaway. Then, Latavius Murray fumbled the ball in the red zone, and the drive ended.
Things spiraled from there, giving Winston the advantage. On the next drive, Hill stepped up against pressure and missed a checkdown to Murray. The next pass attempt was against a spot-drop zone defense, and Ty Montgomery sat the route down in the middle of the field as Hill threw it toward the sideline. Baltimore secured the interception on the miscommunication.
He looked to get it back together on the next drive, completing 2 underneath passes. Yet, the next pass attempt was a poor leverage read that ended with Hill nearly throwing another interception when he let the ball float toward the middle of the field and into coverage. Unfortunately, his night ended with a sack.
Jameis Winston
Conversely, Winston started poorly before finding some comfortability. Yet, his night ended with an interception on an underthrown deep ball.
The thing that may have been most bothersome was his attitude following his first snap. Devonta Freeman fumbled after Winston tripped over him during a handoff. The cameras panned to Winston, who looked visibly agitated as he headed toward the sideline.
His first few pass attempts were scattershot, but he got into a bit of a groove after that. He was excellent during the two-minute drill just before halftime. Winston went 4/5 on the drive for 71 yards and a touchdown. He even showed some solid awareness on an “alert” call to Chris Hogan, who ran a quick slant on a designed run, leading to an easy pitch-and-catch for a few yards.
After Trace McSorley threw an interception, Winston had one more shot with 55 seconds left in the half. He decided to take a downfield shot along the left sideline, but he hit a 5-iron when he needed a 4, and the ball was tipped up and intercepted.
How does Payton choose between Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill?
He probably won’t. At least, not fully. Nothing from the first preseason game suggests either should be the undisputed starter. Winston is the more natural passer. Despite his propensity to throw the ball to the wrong team, he’s generally accurate and goes through progressions, and delivers passes deep in the process with consistency.
However, there’s an arrogance he possesses in that ability that outweighs his actual effectiveness. Meaning, Winston is bound to miss an opposing team’s color flash as he’s clicking through progressions. And too often, his feet, eyes, and arm are out of sync.
It’s not as if he doesn’t work on it. We see the videos of Winston doing the same sequencing drill all quarterbacks do. It simply doesn’t always translate to live-action.
Hill doesn’t have the finer points of quarterbacking down the same way Winston does. Those things come with talent and repetition. It’s unclear at this point if he possesses the latter. He certainly doesn’t have the reps. Still, with the lack of high-end receiver play for the Saints, having a mobile option at quarterback may be necessary.
It’s hard to believe Hill doesn’t get significant snaps in the regular season. Payton has let him play in place of Drew Brees a lot over the past few seasons. I project Payton gets cute and plays them both situationally until he gets a better sense of where they are during the regular season. In the end, Winston gets the starting nod as the Saints starting QB.