The Saints got Derek Carr ($5,300) back from a three-week absence in Week 9 against the Panthers, but they suffered a 23-22 loss to the lowly Panthers. After the team fired coach Dennis Allen, it’ll try to turn things around after its 2-7 start with interim head coach Darren Rizzi. One key contributor that the Saints could rely on is versatile Taysom Hill ($4,000), who has multiple pathways to fantasy success the rest of the season.
Even after we hyped Hill on Saturday, he’s still available on the waiver wire in over 60% of season-long leagues. He brings a very high ceiling and is a great option to look for on the waiver wire if you need a tight end pickup headed into Week 10, when big names David Njoku and Brock Bowers are headed for their bye week.
Taysom Hill’s season so far
Hill is mostly eligible in fantasy football as a tight end but also lines up at QB and RB as well as playing on special teams, where he worked with Rizzi over the past several years.
This season, Hill missed multiple weeks with fractured ribs that he suffered in Week 4 against the Falcons. He had a season-high six carries for 24 yards in that game and scored two touchdowns on his way to 14.4 fantasy points.
He was sidelined until Week 8 when he returned with two catches for 21 yards and four carries for 20 yards. In Week 9 with Carr back at QB, Hill set season-highs with 41 receiving yards with four catches on five targets. He also had five carries for 19 yards and a touchdown on his way to 16 fantasy points.
Taysom Hill’s value going forward
The Saints will need Hill to be involved in any kind of turnaround this season, and he has multiple ways he could contribute, depending on how Rizzi wants to use him.
Hill makes sense in the backfield since Kendre Miller (hamstring) is back on IR and Jamaal Williams ($4,100; groin) also missed last week. Even when healthy, Williams has had three carries or fewer in every game since Week 2. Jordan Mims ($4,000) was signed off IR, but he hasn’t had much involvement and isn’t much of a threat to Hill’s goal-line work.
Not only does he have upside as a rusher, Hill also brings potential as a pass catcher like most tight ends. The Saints could be very short on receivers with Bub Means (ankle) also placed on IR on Saturday with a high-ankle sprain and Rashid Shaheed (knee) out for the year. Chris Olave ($6,100) suffered what appeared to be a serious concussion and has battled injury all season, and his availability is uncertain going forward as well.
The Saints’ other tight end is Juwan Johnson ($3,300), who was able to return after a brief exit on Sunday but only had two targets compared to Hill’s five.
The bottom line
Even as just a pass catcher, Hill would be a fringe option, but the fact that he is also such a goal-line feature with rushing and passing upside raises his ceiling every week.
This week in a rematch at home against the Falcons, I have him as a top-10 TE in my rankings. With Rizzi at the helm, the team could be more aggressive, and I think he’ll do more to get Hill involved as a central contributor.
The Saints are 3.5-point home underdogs this week, and Hill is also a solid lineup option at tight end at $4,000 in DFS contests like the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st].
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