Sunday marks seven days until the New Orleans Saints officially kick off their 2026 season. The Saints will do so on the road when they travel to face the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13. Wearing No. 7 for New Orleans this season will be Jonas Sanker, a second-year defensive back. Our countdown to kickoff series already covered Sanker as No. 33, the uniform he wore as a rookie and into training camp this year. Therefore, this segment will instead take a look back at the career of Taysom Hill, one of the most beloved players in team history.
▪︎ Name (age): Taysom Hill (36)▪︎ Hometown: Pocatello, Idaho▪︎ Position: TE/QB/RB/WR▪︎ Height, weight: 6-foot-2, 221 pounds▪︎ College: BYU Cougars▪︎ Relative Athletic Score: 9.6▪︎ Drafted: Undrafted in 2017
(Packers)▪︎ NFL career: 9 years
A football and track star at Highland High School, Hill was the Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior. After completing a Mormon LDS mission, he'd choose Brigham Young University over several other offers. Hill began his freshman year of 2012 as a backup quarterback that was used on short yardage packages, a glimpse into his NFL future. Before sustaining a season-ending injury though, he'd wind up making a couple starts at quarterback and in six total games accounted for 8 touchdowns.
By 2013, Hill was the Cougars starting quarterback. He threw for 2,938 yards with 19 touchdowns and rushed for an incredible 1,344 yards and 10 scores while leading all independent schools in completions but also in throwing 14 interceptions. Injuries plagued Hill over his next two seasons after that. A broken leg cost him all but five games in 2014, then a Lisfranc injury suffered in the 2015 season opener knocked him out for the entire year. Hill returned as the BYU starting quarterback in 2016, but missed the Cougars bowl game with an elbow injury. During the regular season, he'd complete 59.7% of his throws for 2,323 yards with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while adding 603 yards and 8 scores on the ground.
Not selected in the 2017 NFL draft, Hill was signed by the Green Bay Packers. He played reasonably well as a backup quarterback in preseason but was nonetheless among Green Bay's final cuts. New Orleans scooped him up quickly. While he didn't see any offensive action during the regular season, Hill did volunteer for special teams duty and got a few offensive reps during the playoffs. Recognizing what a unique athlete he had, Saints coach Sean Payton began using Hill in some special offensive packages in 2018. For the next seven years starting that season, Hill's versatility, speed, and physicality would torture NFL defenses.
Oftentimes, Taysom Hill was the second most effective runner for the New Orleans offense over the last several years. He's rushed for 2,437 yards and 33 touchdowns, averaging 5.6 per carry. Hill also developed as a receiver after his first few years, catching 99 passes for 943 yards and 11 scores from various points in the formation. As a quarterback, Hill got nine starting opportunities and had a 7-2 record. He also had several snaps from that position in packages designed for him in the weekly game plans. As a passer, Hill had a 63.3% career completion percentage with 2,426 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. He was often a consistent factor on special teams as a gunner, punt protector, and even as a kickoff returner.
Officially listed as a tight end over his last few seasons, mounting injuries caused Hill's effectiveness to wane. While he didn't officially retire after the 2025 season, there was a lot of emotion during his final home game as a Saint. Taysom Hill played with the passion and physicality with the versatility that caused him to be one of the most loved New Orleans players. He'll undoubtedly have a spot in the Saints Hall of Fame once eligible.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Taysom Hill is the Saints Player of Day 7
