New Orleans Saints TE Taysom Hill is a one-of-one when it comes to fantasy football. His versatility allows him to post some of the most unique stat lines you’ll see, only to be followed by a stretch where he’s hardly involved.
Thanks to Hill’s eligibility at tight end, we can swallow more risk than if we had to plug him in elsewhere. Is 2024 the season that Hill’s role expands enough to make him a reliable asset?
Taysom Hill’s 2024 Fantasy Outlook
- Total Fantasy Points: 126 (113 non-PPR)
- Passing Yards: 446
- Passing TDs: 2
- Interceptions: 2
- Rushing Yards: 404
- Rushing TDs: 5
- Receptions: 13
- Receiving Yards: 120
- Receiving TDs: 1
These are PFN’s consensus projections, correct as of August 16. The most up-to-date projections can be found in our Who Should I Draft Tool.
Should You Draft Hill This Year?
Hill isn’t routinely being drafted. That’s the way it should be. This will be his eighth NFL season, and if you think you have a beat as to how he’s going to be used entering the season, you’re lying to yourself.
Taysom Hill x2!!
Touchdown Saints!! ⚜️ 🔵⚪️#NFL #Saints #ForTheShoe #NOvsINDpic.twitter.com/wBIn0Hh7O4— Sportskeeda Pro Football (@SKProFootball)
Hill is certainly a weapon, but his usage is as much a product of how a specific game is going as any in the league. Does a 3rd-and-goal situation where the opponent’s primary edge rusher had his contact come out and is now on the sideline getting it sorted out present itself? It’s Hill time — good luck trying to predict what weeks that will happen.
As fun as the sneaks or gadget plays are, they come and go. Seven of Hill’s nine highest-scoring (PPR) games for his career have come when he’s thrown 15+ passes. That tracks — when he enters a week with a stable role under center, the points pile up. That creates significant value at tight end.
We know those weeks as they come up, but there’s no way to project them ahead of time. If Derek Carr were to get dinged up (two missed games over the past six seasons) and you think it’s a long-term issue, you have my blessing to spend your entire FAAB budget on Hill.
That said, if you’re in the business of drafting a player based solely on contingent value, why not take a skill-position option that plays a position that is at far greater risk of actually getting injured?
In the Hill range of ADP (the “rarely drafted in standard-sized leagues” neighborhood), running backs like Elijah Mitchell and Khalil Herbert are going.
Instead of betting against an Iron Man pocket passer who makes it his life’s goal to not get hit, these lottery tickets cash if Christian McCaffrey (nearing 2,000 career touches with a pair of seasons that he missed the majority of games on his résumé) or D’Andre Swift (3+ missed games in three of four seasons and coming off a 268-touch campaign) go down.
Even if you’re intrigued by Hill’s upside, you can wait. Wear and tear of his teammates is something that largely works in his favor — and that requires time. Here’s what I’m talking about.
Hill’s 10+ Carry Games
- Week 8: Once
- Week 9: Once
- Week 11: Once
- Week 12: Once
- Week 13: Three times
- Week 14: Once
- Week 15: Once
- Week 17: Twice
Not a single game comes before Week 8, and I highly doubt that if a manager does draft him in August, they have the patience to wait until November for a payoff.
One more word of caution — Hill is viewed as a grinder, and I don’t think that’s wrong. We view him as a way to muddy up a game and drag the opposition into a knockdown, drag-out battle.
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That rarely happens in ideal conditions. The Saints’ last game that has any weather risk is when they travel to New England … in Week 5.
If I draft Hill, I feel obligated to keep him rostered, which could result in missed waiver wire opportunities elsewhere. My Hill exposure will remain the same this season as years past — zero, with the understanding that a max FAAB bid is in play if need be.
Jason Katz’s Fantasy Insight on Taysom Hill
To no surprise, Hill’s ADP is TE22. It’s the same story with him pretty much every season.
Fantasy managers aren’t going to draft Hill because he’s too unreliable. The spike weeks are unpredictable and few and far between. But they’re possible. Better yet, they’re a certainty.
Even though we don’t know when, the fact that they will happen becomes more appealing during the season as injuries and underperformance negatively impact fantasy rosters.
This inevitably leads to fantasy managers looking at the waiver wire and viewing Hill as their best shot at a point total that can actually make a difference in their matchup.
That’s exactly how I’m approaching Hill this season. He’s my TE20. Although that’s a bit ahead of consensus, it’s low enough that I’m never going to need to draft him — and I never would.
Coming out of the draft, I want a tight end with the potential to be a weekly starter. If the tight end I draft doesn’t pan out, then depending on the options, perhaps I will look to Hill as a solution.
