The deeper we get into the season, the more hesitant I am about starting players on Thursday night. This week, we have the Arizona Cardinals hosting the New Orleans Saints. Taysom Hill is the ultimate boom-or-bust tight end option. Should fantasy football managers start Hill on Thursday night?
Taysom Hill’s Fantasy Outlook Against the Cardinals
Hill truly is one of the most unique players in the history of fantasy football. He is the definition of a gadget player, but it’s his positional eligibility that makes him so fascinating.
Through six weeks, Hill is averaging 12.7 PPR fantasy points per game. He’s the overall TE5. However, he hasn’t really been startable on a weekly basis. Hill has scored 63.5 fantasy points on the season.
But a whopping 53% of those points game during his 34.1 overall TE1 explosion in Week 5. In his other four games, Hill has posted totals of 15.3, 1.4, 8.1, and 4.5.
It’s nearly impossible to evaluate Hill based on the Saints’ opponent because it almost doesn’t matter. The Cardinals are downright awful at defending the tight end. A league-high 33.7% of receiving yards against them have gone to tight ends. The reason this doesn’t matter for Hill is he’s not a tight end.
Hill’s season-high in snap share is 33%. Nearly every time he takes the field, he’s taking the snap as the quarterback. Hill has yet to run more than four routes in a single game. He hasn’t seen a target or caught a pass since Week 1.
So, there’s no point in saying Hill has a favorable matchup against a defense struggling against tight ends because he doesn’t play the role designed to take advantage of that.
MORE: Week 7 PPR Fantasy Football Rankings
The Saints have been incredibly banged-up at wide receiver. Michael Thomas hasn’t played since Week 3. Jarvis Landry hasn’t played since Week 4 and isn’t the player he once was, anyway. Chris Olave missed last week’s game with a concussion.
Despite all these absences, Hill hasn’t seen any increase in usage. In fact, last week Hill saw his role decrease even though it was the first game all season where the Saints were down their top three receivers.
Should Fantasy Managers Start Taysom Hill?
You know what you’re getting into with Hill. He’s going to take a handful of carries every game and gives you a decent shot at a touchdown, given his red-zone usage.
Hill has carried the ball five times in the red zone this season. He’s converted four of them into touchdowns. If you start Hill, that’s what you’re banking on — a touchdown.
Without a touchdown, Hill is going to leave you wishing you had started someone else. Hill is averaging 19.2 ppg in games where he scores (buoyed heavily by his four-touchdown Week 5) and a paltry 2.95 ppg in games where he doesn’t. Starting Hill is chasing a touchdown.
Although Hill’s floor is lower than any other tight end, his ceiling is much higher. The reality is most tight ends are touchdown-or-bust anyway. With several high-end fantasy players on bye, including two top-12 tight ends and two other streamer-worthy tight ends, Hill is a justifiable start on Thursday night. He checks in at TE8 in our Week 7 tight end rankings.