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The folks over at ESPN Fantasy have decided to give Taysom Hill quarterback eligibility this week, as Sean Payton has decided to keep us in suspense on who will line up behind center to start their Week 11 game against the Falcons. Drew Brees is out with fractured ribs and a collapsed lung, so the Saints will need a replacement for at least a couple weeks and likely more.
That replacement is more than likely going to be Jameis Winston, who came in for Brees last week. But, Hill could see an uptick in work, as removing Winston for Hill doesn’t sound as bad as removing Brees for Hill and if Winston doesn’t perform well, we could see Hill get even more work.
ESPN’s Matthew Berry lays out their plans for his eligibility here:
FYI. In light of the Brees news on @ESPNFantasy Taysom Hill has been given QB eligibility, effective immediately. He currently qualifies at TE. If Hill plays primarily at QB, using snap count data & our team sees that continuing, we reserve the right to remove his TE eligibility.
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) November 17, 2020
This move could be short-lived if Hill does end up seeing a big chunk of work at quarterback, so rostering him as a tight end to get a bump in usage might only help you this week. But, with the way tight ends have performed this season, it’s worth taking a look at him in a good matchup with the Falcons.
So far, Hill has topped 10 fantasy points just twice and five fantasy points four times on the season. That means, don’t pick him up if you think Winston will play the exact same role as Brees did. With Teddy Bridgewater taking over last season from Week 2 through 7, Hill had just one pass attempt, six targets and 10 rushing attempts. Will he get more with Winston at the helm this season? Probably, as he’s totaled 20 rushing attempts for 134 yards, three receptions on three targets for 51 yards and a touchdown and thrown two passes for 48 yards over his last three games. Those numbers average out to 9.1 ESPN fantasy points per game, or about the TE12 if extrapolated over the season.
So, his workload had increased, possibly because of Brees’ injuries, but still increased and Winston is a wildcard. Plus, the Saints get a good matchup with the Falcons. Hill is at least worth a streaming start this week and is only rostered in 7.3 percent of ESPN leagues.