Jameis Winston has left no doubt he should be Saints starting QB

Jameis Winston has battled it out with Taysom Hill to be the New Orleans Saints starting quarterback but the former has left no doubt it should be him.

Whenever Drew Brees officially announced his retirement, the quarterback battle for the New Orleans Saints got underway. There was speculation that the franchise might bring in another competitor but, ultimately, Sean Payton and Co. were comfortable letting Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill vie for the job.

Fans will remember that Hill got the starting nod when Brees was out due to injury in the 2020 season. However, it was also Winston’s first year with the franchise and coming off a shortened offseason with limited time to adopt a new offense and playbook. Now that we’re in the 2021 preseason with relatively normal circumstances, though, things have changed.

Though Payton won’t name his starting quarterback just yet, it’s clear that Winston has taken control of the quarterback battle after two preseason games. And frankly, it’s not even close.

The Saints first two preseason games have proven that Jameis Winston is the only choice to start at quarterback.

Against the Jaguars on Monday night in the Saints’ second game of the preseason, Jameis Winston was lights out. Getting the start, he went 9-of-10 over three drives and finished with 123 yards and two touchdowns. Hill, on the other hand, went 11-of-20 for 138 yards and a touchdown.

However, it goes beyond the box score. There was simply a different level of offensive play when Winston was at the helm in comparison to Hill. Winston’s three drives resulted in two touchdowns and one punt — but the punt came after two false start penalties backed New Orleans and the quarterback into a tough third-and-16 situation.

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Contrarily, Hill was on the field for six drives that resulted in two three-and-outs, another punt, a turnover on downs, a field goal to end the first half and a touchdown. Even playing against less first-team defensive players for Jacksonville, there was a defined lack of consistency whenever Hill was helming the offense.

Hill has always been a gimmicky player, a quarterback/tight end/wide receiver/special teams hybrid that can do a lot of things solidly. However, he’s not in the same class as Jameis Winston when it comes to quarterback play. There isn’t the same playmaking ability, arm strength and all of the things that raise the ceiling of an offense whenever there’s a quality player at quarterback.

To be sure, history definitely colors our perception with Winston. The 30-30 man endured infuriating turnover issues with the Buccaneers throughout his time there. But now that he’s in a new offense with Payton, the talent that made him the No. 1 overall pick at one point is still there and can still be molded.

Everything we’ve seen in the preseason affirms that Jameis Winston is the only choice for the Saints to be their starting quarterback. At this point, if Payton were to tab Taysom Hill, it would be blatantly ignoring what he’s seen leading up to the 2021 season.