As New Orleans Saints QB Taysom Hill continues to deal with a finger injury, can fantasy football managers expect to have him available in Week 15? Let’s take a look at the latest regarding Hill’s status and whether fantasy managers should be cautious about starting the Saints’ QB in Week 15.
Update 12/19/21: Taysom Hill is officially active and will be the starter tonight against the Buccaneers.
Is Taysom Hill playing today?
Despite the concerns surrounding Hill’s finger, he’s never really looked in doubt of suiting up over the past two weeks. Despite his mallet finger injury, Hill has been a full participant in practice in each of the past two weeks. This means that Hill does not carry an injury designation into Week 15.
Hill has now been on the injury report since Week 11. He was listed with a foot injury in Weeks 11 through 13. He then suffered the finger issue in Week 13 and has been listed with that issue ever since. And still, he’s yet to miss a single practice due to the injury and played through it in Week 14.
Hill has been a strong fantasy contributor in his two weeks as a starter
Despite the on-field performances not always looking convincing as a starting QB, Hill has rewarded fantasy managers who trusted him. In his two weeks as a starter, he’s averaged 23.5 fantasy points per game.
A big part of his success has been his performance in the run game. During his time as the starter, he has rushed for 174 yards on 22 attempts with 2 touchdowns. His rushing numbers alone have given him 29.4 fantasy points in the past two weeks. However, his contribution from the passing game is just 17.6 total fantasy points (8.8 average).
Should this matchup with the Buccaneers make fantasy managers nervous?
There is a reason for positivity for Hill’s fantasy managers. The Buccaneers currently rank as the seventh-worst defense against QBs in terms of fantasy points allowed. On average, opposing QBs have scored 18.7 fantasy points per game against the Buccaneers’ defense. That has included 22.6 rushing yards and 0.25 rushing touchdowns on average.
Additionally, Tampa Bay’s run defense has struggled in the last few weeks. They have allowed 133.7 rush yards per game in the past three weeks. Included in that is Josh Allen’s 109 rushing yards and score on the ground in Week 14. In total, Allen scored 35.2 fantasy points against the Buccaneers.
That return would likely be a ceiling for Hill this week. He should be able to get close to matching the 16.9 fantasy points that Allen had rushing. Yet, Allen also threw for 308 yards, with 2 touchdowns and an interception. Since becoming a starter, Hill has averaged just 219.5 passing yards in the last two games.
The game script could force Hill into having a fantastic fantasy day. If the Buccaneers get a lead, Hill could potentially have to throw the ball 35 times. Yet, if that happens, there is just as much risk that Hill throws multiple interceptions and hurts his value.