Taysom Hill and Route Running (1 Viewer)

[stbruce]

As a devoted Saints fan who never played football and whose knowledge of the intricacies of the game is very limited, I am constantly indebted to the folks in this forum who provide such remarkable insights; and I have a question for those who have experience on this subject. With Taysom Hill becoming a dedicated tight end (seems like a great move to me), how difficult will it be for him to become really adept at running routes and creating separation? Taysom appears to have the strength and the speed to be outstanding at that position; but route running at the NFL level seems to be a very difficult skill to master. There are really two questions: having watched Hill play, how would you rate his current ability to run routes? And -- whatever his current skill level -- how difficult will it be for him to develop NFL level competence at running tight end routes? (And one last question, please: are the routes run by tight ends somewhat simpler than those run by other receivers?) Many thanks for sharing your wisdom.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

I think its easier for an ex-QB to trasnision to WR or TE than say a RB or defensive player, IMO.
Being a QB you have to understand routes and know the timing. The difference is, most QBs don't have the atheletic ability to achieve this. Its pretty common for college QBs to attempt to play WR in the NFL if they can't get drafted as a QB

 

[meily]

Its going to be much of the same, he will play more H-back being that he will NEVER be the only "TE" in the game and will be mixed in 2-3 TE sets or even be the H-Back in a 3 WR set (bunch formation) were he will be used more like a check down player no different than a running back. There are plenty of tape showing how Hill will and can be used so his route running in regard to concept routes will be at a minimum as he will not a be a front line player garnering that much attention. That is just my opinion.

 

[Saint Kamara]

All I know is he worked really hard on catching the ball, early on he had a bunch of drops.

He's a nightmare matchup.

I suspect he's going to steadily improve his route running.

 

[St. Widge]

I think its easier for an ex-QB to trasnision to WR or TE than say a RB or defensive player, IMO.
Being a QB you have to understand routes and know the timing. The difference is, most QBs don't have the atheletic ability to achieve this. Its pretty common for college QBs to attempt to play WR in the NFL if they can't get drafted as a QB

That's a good point. Hill will already know the route trees, it will just be a matter of him learning the nuances of running those routes which he has likely done some of in the role he has had the last few years. But, hopefully he will now be able to concentrate on the little things that make a big difference.

 

[Covington Saint]

As a devoted Saints fan who never played football and whose knowledge of the intricacies of the game is very limited, I am constantly indebted to the folks in this forum who provide such remarkable insights; and I have a question for those who have experience on this subject. With Taysom Hill becoming a dedicated tight end (seems like a great move to me), how difficult will it be for him to become really adept at running routes and creating separation? Taysom appears to have the strength and the speed to be outstanding at that position; but route running at the NFL level seems to be a very difficult skill to master. There are really two questions: having watched Hill play, how would you rate his current ability to run routes? And -- whatever his current skill level -- how difficult will it be for him to develop NFL level competence at running tight end routes? (And one last question, please: are the routes run by tight ends somewhat simpler than those run by other receivers?) Many thanks for sharing your wisdom.

holy overthinking batman.

Taysom, run left fast, catch, run safety over. Cool. Good job. Get ball, hit corner, score touchdown. Cool Good job.

 

[St. Widge]

holy overthinking batman.

Taysom, run left fast, catch, run safety over. Cool. Good job. Get ball, hit corner, score touchdown. Cool Good job.

Is this really how you think an NFL offense, or a college offense for that matter, works?

 

[Saint Dupree]

He has a reputation for being a smart guy, able to stay on top of multiple position groups, I think his track record, and playing the positions he has along with his physical abilities would point to him mastering the position

 

[SweetT]

Taysom will become a top 3 TE and sign a record breaking deal for the position. He will recoup all of those lost QB incentives from this contract. #first$20millionayearTEintheNFL…

Too soon?!?!

 

[BayouSAINTJoe]

Running routes ain't easy...he'll have to learn how to time his lookback, track a ball in flight, read a defenders hips, sell routes ,and so on...good luck

 

[OldTimeGamer1966]

Running routes ain't easy...he'll have to learn how to time his lookback, track a ball in flight, read a defenders hips, sell routes ,and so on...good luck

Just think as Taysom as a undrafted free agent out of Ihaveneverheardofim college just because he has caught a few passes and several td pases really doesn't mean anything. I agree with your points and most of all good luck. Taysom will be a work in progress there so it will take time but the good thing is if it fails you can put him in other places because he is such a good athlete.

 

[RaginCajun83]

As along as they keep running qb power with him I’m ok with the growing pains of him learning the details of playing full time TE in the NFL

 

[Pocket Hercules]

Just think as Taysom as a undrafted free agent out of Ihaveneverheardofim college just because he has caught a few passes and several td pases really doesn't mean anything. I agree with your points and most of all good luck. Taysom will be a work in progress there so it will take time but the good thing is if it fails you can put him in other places because he is such a good athlete.

Taysom has been catching balls for several years now and has gotten open effectively at all three levels. He's well beyond an unproven UDFA, even splitting time between QB/RB/WR/TE/ST.

 

[Westbank4Life]

TE route tree is limited..they don't run the complete route tree ever....it's more about hitting seams, finding the holes in the second and third layer as a release value, body up the DB and finally...catch the ball when it's thrown to them.

The great TE"s do all the above only they are fast, jump higher, bigger with an attitude that nobody can stop them.

If taysom gets open and catches the ball he's going to punish people trying to bring him down no doubt about it.

Or he'll out run them all in a footrace. he's extremely fast for his size.

 

[OldTimeGamer1966]

Taysom has been catching balls for several years now and has gotten open effectively at all three levels. He's well beyond an unproven UDFA, even splitting time between QB/RB/WR/TE/ST.

Hopefully it will be a easy transition but you give defenses time to study and account for him it will look a lot different to him.

First off he needs to get healthy I want to see what he can do when we put him in a static position and is accounted for in that one position. I hope he is good enough to where they do account for him and he still makes plays and is successful but gotta see it before I buy into it right now it's a good idea to experiment with.