The Denver Broncos made a splash acquisition for the second straight offseason. They acquired Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints to become their new head coach, surrendering multiple draft picks to get the deal done.
There is hope that Payton will be able to get last year’s blockbuster acquisition, quarterback Russell Wilson, on trade. The Broncos traded three players and five draft picks to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Wilson and thus far the trade has been a major bust. Wilson had the worst season of his professional career and Nathaniel Hackett was fired after one season as a result.
Payton has a lengthy track record of proven success and is certainly the right man for the job. But, it wouldn’t hurt to bring in a few more weapons around Wilson to help him elevate his performance. Could Payton push to bring in a familiar face from his time with the Saints to Denver?
One of the moves predicted to be made this offseason is the Broncos acquiring Taysom Hill from New Orleans. Hill is a versatile Swiss army knife on offense capable of lining up all over the formation. He has started games at quarterback and tight end and is a favorite of Payton’s.
In a disastrous salary cap situation, the Saints may be willing to move Hill just to dump his contract. His long-term deal is one that shocked a lot of people and there isn’t anyone in the league better equipped to make use of his unique skill set than Payton.
The Broncos are short on draft capital, but it shouldn’t cost much to acquire Hill. A late-round pick or even a swap just to move off of his contract should be enough for the Saints to make a deal.
As a quarterback, Hill has gone 7-2 as a starter and all of that came with Payton as head coach. In 2022, he was converted to tight end and attempted only 19 passes, completing 13 of them for 240 yards and two touchdowns.
The BYU product ran the ball 96 times for 575 yards and seven touchdowns while catching nine passes for 77 yards and two more scores. That kind of versatility and production is something the Broncos could use more of after having the lowest-scoring offense in the league in 2022.
