Taysom Hill etched his name into the New Orleans Saints all-time rushing touchdown list by finding the end zone twice in Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons. The former BYU phenom’s 29 career rushing touchdowns puts him in fifth place in Saints franchise history, per Football Reference.
The four players ahead of the BYU legend are Alvin Kamara (59), Mark Ingram (52), Deuce McAllister (49), and Dalton Hilliard (39).
The New Orleans Saints were founded in 1967, giving them 58 years to produce players who can carry the rock into the end zone. In those nearly six decades, only four players have done so more often than Taysom Hill. This is a truly remarkable feat for a gadget player who at one time or another has lined up in every skill position the team has to offer.
The remarkable supporting stats
In addition to the impressive 29 rushing touchdowns, two additional Taysom stats are quite remarkable.
First, Hill has scored 29 touchdowns in just 412 rushing attempts. The four all-time touchdown leaders ahead of him each carried the ball at least 1,100 times to achieve their lofty touchdown numbers. True, Taysom isn’t an every down back and he does get a lot of “and-goal” touches near the end zone, but Hill has earned that right. His combination of speed, strength, and vision make him the perfect weapon to punch it in from near the goal line.
Second, now in his eighth NFL season, Taysom Hill has averaged 5.4 yards per carry throughout his unique career. This is remarkable since opposing defenses know he’s going to run the ball when he lines up at quarterback. Despite being 34, Hill isn’t slowing down, either. Last year he averaged 5.0 yards per carry and this season he’s back up to 5.5 YPC.
Can Taysom rise even higher on the Saints TD list?
Taysom Hill’s 29 rushing touchdowns are 10 behind Dalton Hilliard for fourth place on the Saints all-time list. In the four previous seasons in which Taysom has been used regularly as a runner (2020-2023), he has rushed for 24 total touchdowns, or an average of six per season. If those averages hold up, he would likely need to continue to play for about two more years.
While Taysom is already “old” by NFL standards at 34, he’s still running the ball like he was in his prime. Earlier this year he set a personal squat record at 685 pounds and shows no sign of slowing down on the field. However, he has already suffered two different chest injuries this year and his health going forward is a valid concern at this point in his career.
If Taysom Hill can stay healthy, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for him to put up 10 more rushing touchdowns in his incredible career.
But the future will take care of itself. For now let’s just revel in the fact that as a BYU product, Taysom Hill is “our guy”.
And “our guy” continues to do amazing things.