Have the Saints figured out their problem with using Taysom Hill? | Saints

Here’s a shocker: In an ideal world, the New Orleans Saints would like to continue using Taysom Hill the way they used him against the Cleveland Browns.

When he last took the field, Hill was enjoying the best performance of his professional career: he rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns and added 50 yards on eight receptions (plus 18 pass yards and 42 kick return yards).

Obviously, the Saints want something like that to happen again on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, who are coming off a performance in which they allowed Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley to rush for 255 yards and two scores.

According to Next Gen Stats, Barkley’s performance this season was the best in the NFL. He recorded +13.9 Expected Points Added (EPA) on rushing plays against the Rams, the highest single-game score of any player this season. It surpassed the previous high: Hill’s EPA of +12.9 on rushing plays against the Browns.

Hill’s 15 touches against the Browns matched his career high. Now in his eighth season, he has played in just 16 career games with 10 or more touches – the combined total of rushes and receptions. When Hill hits that 10-touch benchmark, the Saints are 14-2.

So that’s the ideal. But will the Saints continue to feed Hill? That still needs to be clarified. Usage has always been an interesting question for Hill.

“The more he’s on the field, the more effective we’ve been,” said interim coach Darren Rizzi. “… There’s a fine line between too much and too little, so we have to manage that well.”

First, Hill has a huge mental burden on himself every week. For someone who plays every offensive position except offensive line, it’s not enough to understand the game plan – he needs to understand the game plan for five or six positions in addition to special teams.

Then there is the question of durability. Hill, 34, has missed several games this season due to rib and lung injuries.

“I understand that we’re trying to find a balance between making sure you’re available and all of that, but we also have to make sure we’re doing everything we can to win football games,” Hill said after the Browns game. “I don’t know exactly what this will look like going forward, but I’m definitely enjoying the new opportunities I’m getting.”

Since taking over as interim coach, Rizzi has enjoyed the way offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has adapted to Hill’s effort. For Rizzi, it’s not necessarily a strict rule regarding the number of touches; it’s more about position variation.

“I think our approach to him over the last couple of weeks is really what we’re aiming for – a little bit of everything, not too much of everything,” Rizzi said.

However, Kubiak said he sees no reason to really limit Hill’s workload. He said it’s been a strange year for Hill because of the injuries, but once he’s available, Kubiak said he wants to use him “to the maximum.”

“Absolutely not,” Kubiak said when asked whether there were reservations about overusing Hill. “Ready for Taysom to make every play.”