Chris Price is an award-winning journalist and public relations principal. When he’s not writing, he’s avid about music, the outdoors, and Saints, Ole Miss and Chelsea football. Price also authors the Friday Sports Column at BizNewOrleans.com.
The New Orleans Saints are in a position many companies have had to face in their existence. They’ve enjoyed a 15-year stretch of the greatest achievements in their history, but a change is at hand. After a decade and a half with quarterback Drew Brees running one of the most prolific offenses in NFL history, the team will have a new play caller under center in either Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill.
No matter who gets the call, they’ll have big shoulder pads to fill. In his time in New Orleans, Brees rewrote team and league record books. He led all NFL quarterbacks in touchdowns, passing yards and 300-yard games. He holds the NFL records for career pass completions, career completion percentage and career passing yards, and is second in career touchdown passes. He was rewarded with 13 Pro Bowl appearances, the 2006 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, MVP of Super Bowl XLIV, the Associated Press’ Male Athlete of the Year, Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year in 2010, and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2011. He is expected to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible in 2026.
This year, Brees’ tie to the game will move from the gridiron to a studio or press box when he joins NBC Sports as a football analyst.
In addition to losing Brees, the Saints had to make drastic revisions to their roster this offseason to meet the league-mandated salary-cap. The team furiously shed more than $100 million — which many have cited as the worst underwater salary cap position an NFL team has ever seen — to become compliant while fielding a team capable of competing.
Now the team must turn their playbook’s page to 2021.
Hill has gained league-wide prominence for his “Swiss Army knife” capabilities of playing multiple skill positions. In three years, the 30-year-old has completed 94 of his 134 attempts (70.1%) for 1,047 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s rushed 151 times for 809 yards and 11 TDs and as a receiver has 30 catches on 41 targets for 336 yards and seven scores. A major eye-opener was the 11 fumbles — 10 last season — he’s coughed up, often when trying to extend plays.
Winston has been a hot and cold quarterback in his six-year NFL career, completing 1,570 of his 2,559 passes (61.4%) for 19,812 yards, 121 TDs and 88 picks. The former Heisman Trophy winner was the top overall draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015 but was let go before the 2020 season when the team signed Tom Brady. The 27-year-old had a 28-42 record under two head coaches with the Saints’ rivals. At times he’s shown brilliance; at others he’s made bone-headed mistakes. In his last season starting for Tampa, he threw for 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns, but he also threw 30 interceptions. He had LASIK surgery to improve his vision and signed a one-year deal with the Saints — worth $1.1 million and up to $3.4 million in incentives — in hopes of resurrecting his career. At the time, he said learning under Brees and head coach Sean Payton would be “like a Harvard education in quarterback school.”
Winston and Hill will be the talk of the summer. Who can take over the huddle and provide the leadership the team needs? Who one is most up to speed and comfortable running the offense? Who is able to keep the offense moving? Which gives the team the better chance to win?
The good news is the Saints don’t need either to be Superman. Payton is a play-calling genius and will tailor game plans to his team’s strengths.
If I had to guess, I think Winston gets the nod so that both players are able to be on the field at the same time and the Saints can continue to rely on the the gadgetry of Hill’s multi-positional play.
While Hill led the Saints to a 3-1 record in replacement of Brees last season — and I believe he will see time under center depending on the field position, down and distance — at this point I don’t think he’s shown enough development as a quarterback to be the full-time starter.
The Saints have multiple weapons at their disposal, including running back Alvin Kamara, who displayed near MVP-caliber play in 2020, and wide receiver Michael Thomas, the 2019 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, a dynamic offensive line that is one of the best in the league – a luxury Winston didn’t have in Tampa – as well as a Top-5 defense from a year ago.
With Winston at quarterback, the Saints won’t have to change much of their play-calling strategy. That means there will still be a lot of runs and short passes to get going, but with Winston’s arm and Payton’s willingness to gamble, don’t be surprised to see more long passes down field. That’s a capability the Saints’ offense hasn’t had in recent years, and expect Payton to utilize it to his team’s advantage.
