Don’t fall for all the Taysom Hill fantasy football hype

One league host has changed his position eligibility, with others sure to follow, but don’t go thinking Taysom Hill is a real fantasy asset.

Taysom Hill is a unique player, and the New Orleans Saints clearly value him highly based on the contract they just gave him. There’s a chance he succeeds as the starting quarterback Drew Brees in 2021, but the signing of Jameis Winston keeps other options open.

To this point, Hill has been listed strictly as a quarterback for fantasy football purposes. That has naturally limited his utility, outside of leagues where two quarterbacks can be started each week. And that leaves aside the fact he has just 13 regular season pass attempts in his career.

Hill did have 156 rushing yards and one touchdown last season, along with 19 receptions for 234 yards and six scores. He lined up as a quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end, with a 23 percent share of the Saints’ regular season snaps last year. He followed that up by accounting for 125 of the Saints’ 324 total yards in a playoff loss to the Vikings-50 passing, 50 rushing and 25 receiving.

On Wednesday, ESPN announced Hill will be TE/flex eligible this year until further notice.

If he was listed strictly as a tight end for fantasy purposes in 2019 and used that way by the Saints, with naturally taking away his rushing production as a consequence, Hill would have come in at TE23 in standard leagues, TE34 in full-point PPR and TE29 in half-point PPR.

The opening up of being able to use him in a flex spot is helpful, and there’s a solid chance his role grows some this year. Adding the rushing production back in would have boosted Hill’s fantasy standing nicely in 2019, but only among tight ends and strictly in standard scoring as a broader nod to there only being a few top-end guys at the position. If he sees more snaps under center this year, as Brees seems open to, the possibilities as a pass catcher will automatically drop for Hill.

So where is the ceiling for Hill as a fantasy producer in 2020? Not particularly high even if Brees were to be injured again, as Winston would step in as the starter like Teddy Bridgewater did last year. The floor is so low for Hill it’s hard to define.

Hill does not fit strict labels like quarterback, wide receiver or tight end, which speaks to his real-life value as a multi-faceted weapon in a special role. He might be worth a flier this year as a TE2 in deep fantasy leagues now, accounting for everything he could produce. But that is the high-end for him. There are going to be better TE2 options in deeper leagues, on draft day and in-season off the waiver wire.

Let someone else buy into the Hill fantasy buzz, and take solace in not wasting a roster spot for any length of time regardless of your league size.