‘Taysom Hill can do everything’: Why a former BYU QB almost played linebacker for the Saints

Taysom Hill has played a lot of positions for the New Orleans Saints in his NFL career.
He has previously taken snaps on offense and special teams as a quarterback and tight end and now fullback and tailback, but a defensive position was almost added to that list.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen appeared on “Up and Adams” Thursday. During the appearance, he revealed to host Kay Adams that he previously wanted the former BYU quarterback to play as a linebacker.
“I thought about that. Early on, we kind of thought about making him a SAM linebacker,” Allen said. “I’m not kidding. We (on defense) talked about that, but the head coach at the time, he wasn’t giving up anything.”
Adams pointed out that Allen, who was hired to replace Sean Payton in 2022, is no longer the Saints’ defensive coordinator and can now decide to have Hill play defense, too.
“But now we got him doing so many things now: fullback, runner. There’s only so many ball plays a guy can play,” he said.
Allen said if Hill were a SAM linebacker, he’d rush him half of the time.
“He would kill people, I feel like,” Adams said. “One game, why not?”
The head coach pumped the brakes on the defensive role, pointing out Hill’s already full plate.
“Let’s see him do what he’s going to do at fullback, at tailback, at receiver, at tight end, personal protector, kick returner. He’s got enough jobs,” Allen said.
Adams asked Allen about new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Allen praised Kubiak for his creativity in using Hill.
“I’m really excited to see what he’s doing with Taysom Hill. He’s doing everything with him because Taysom Hill can do everything,” he said. “You bring in some new thoughts, some new ideas. They see the player in a different way. I think sometimes when you do the same thing over and over, sometimes you can just get caught in that rut of this is what this guy does.”
Allen then turned the praise to Hill, who has been with the Saints since 2017.
“He’s more than just a ‘wildcat quarterback.’ He can do a lot of different things. He can line up as a tight end. He can line up as a wide receiver. He can line up as the tailback. He can line up as the fullback. He can block. He can catch. He can run. If he can do all those things, let’s figure out how we can put him in a position to do that. I think Klint’s done a great job at being able to do that,” he said.
Hill and the Saints will take on the Tennessee Titans Sunday in their final preseason game.