One of the underrated reasons why New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was able to play for 20 seasons was that, for the last 5 years or so, he got some relief from taking a beating from NFL defenses from the most unexpected place.
That relief came in the form of undrafted free agent Taysom Hill — a college quarterback at BYU who would become known as the “Human Swiss Army Knife” in head coach Sean Payton’s offense. Hill kept teams completely off balance for Brees’ last 4 seasons with his wide skill set of abilities. It was a stretch in which the Saints were also 1 of the NFL’s elite teams, going 49-15 while winning 4 consecutive NFC South Division titles.
The Athletic’s Brooks Kubena sees Hill’s rare blend of size and athleticism reborn in Eagles rookie Cole Payton, who could very well find himself utilized in the same way and provide similar cover to Eagles starting quarterback Jalen Hurts as Hill did with Brees.
“Payton is a southpaw with Taysom Hill comps,” Kubena wrote on July 24. “As the Eagles decide what to do with Tanner McKee while he battles Andy Dalton for QB2, they’ll spend training camp seeing if there’s a future role at all for a terrific athlete like Payton.”
Cole Payton Already Called ‘Future Franchise QB’
Payton, 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, won a pair of FCS national championships as a backup at North Dakota State, although he was used in short-yardage goal line situations and had 13 rushing touchdowns as a sophomore in 2023.
He finally got a chance to be the starter in 2025, leading the Bison to a 12-1 record while putting up 3,496 yards of total offense and 29 touchdowns — 16 passing and 13 rushing.
“Cole Payton put on a show today at his Pro Day!” Former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps wrote on his official X account on March 19. “Cole ripped the ball … he checked all of the boxes today and displayed why he is one of the best QBs in this draft. One team is going to land a future franchise QB.”
Not Everyone Has Faith in Rookie QB Cole Payton
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay didn’t put much faith in Payton’s future on the Eagles’ roster with “realistic expectations” for every NFL rookie quarterback just 1 month from the start of training camp.
In Kay’s model, Payton ends up as QB3 for the Eagles in a best-case scenario. And that’s only if the Eagles make a long-awaited trade and send longtime backup quarterback Tanner McKee somewhere he might have a chance to start.
“The Eagles were thoroughly tantalized by (Payton’s) size, athleticism and upside, enough to use a fifth-round pick and overcrowd a quarterbacks room that already contains Jalen Hurts, Andy Dalton, and Tanner McKee,” Kay wrote. “The latter could be on the move soon, however, as McKee has drawn interest around the league as a potential starter. Because of the talent in that group, general manager Howie Roseman has revealed he may opt to keep four quarterbacks on the active roster in 2026 if McKee sticks around. That’s a nod to Payton’s potential, but he’s not going to be anything more than a QB4 as a rookie with those other players blocking his path up the depth chart.”
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