Tough Choice in the Big Easy

Who will Sean Payton choose to fill in for Drew Brees during his injury absence: Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill?

by Brendan Smith, Sports O’Clock Writing Team Member

Taysom Hill (left) and Jameis Winston (right) both have a chance to replace the injured Drew Brees (photo credits: Getty Images)

It has been confirmed that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has multiple fractured ribs and a collapsed lung after Brees sought out second opinions on the original diagnosis. The timetable for his return is expected to be after at least two weeks. Until then, Saints head coach Sean Payton has a difficult decision to make on who will fill Brees’ shoes.

The Saints currently have two other quarterbacks on the roster: Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill. Payton has yet to announce which of the two will start against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Winston is the obvious choice to start this weekend. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback will give Payton a chance to open up the offensive playbook and call more downfield plays due to him having a stronger arm than Brees. That will surely benefit the talented Saints receiving corps that includes Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.

There is a tradeoff with Winston. He has a big arm, but he is one of the most turnover-prone quarterbacks in the NFL. Winston infamously threw 30 interceptions during the 2019-20 season and displayed terrible awareness and ball placement. If Payton can help Winston limit the turnovers, Winston is the best choice to replace Brees for the next two weeks.

Payton’s other option is Hill, the Saints’ jack-of-all-trades. Hill has played a variety of positions this season, most notably as the wildcat quarterback on read option plays. The increased use of Hill over recent weeks shows that Payton has finally cracked the code on how to best utilize one of his most talented players. If Payton were to choose Hill to run the offense, the Saints will most likely run a read option-based offense.

The downside of Hill is his arm talent. Hill has only thrown four passes this season and 18 passes total over his three seasons in New Orleans. That does not exude confidence for a Saints team that needs a seamless quarterback transition to remain atop the NFC.

The Saints’ quarterback situation has been compared to the stretch of games the Saints had to play last season without Brees. These situations are not comparable at all. Last season, Brees was replaced by Teddy Bridgewater for five games; Bridgewater has a very similar playing style to that of Brees, and he was able to seamlessly fit in to an offense that was tailored to his skill sets. Neither Winston or Hill play the same way as Brees, so Payton will have to tinker with his offensive game plan to ensure the Saints can keep winning without their starting quarterback.

Prediction: Winston will start while Hill will continue his offensive gadget role.

(Statistics taken from Pro-Football-Reference.com)

(All photos are cited properly. No copyright infringement intended.)