Locals in the NFL, Week 1: Now a tight end, Taysom Hill still has a role with the Saints

Estimated reading time: 7-8 minutes

AROUND THE SHIELD — Taysom Hill may be listed as a tight end, but he still has a role to play for the New Orleans Saints under the coaching regime.

Hill ran for 81 yards on four carries, including an 11-yard touchdown on a quarterback sweep, to help the Saints to a 27-26 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL regular season.

Hill started at tight end, but ran for a career-long 57-yard sprint out of the backfield on his first touch of the game to drive the Saints into the red zone on their opening possession.

Two plays later, the former BYU star lined up in the backfield, took the direct snap, and bounded into the end zone to give New Orleans a 7-3 lead.

“Taysom was the offense early on,” Saints coach Dennis Allen told reporters after the game. “It was good to see him get back out there. We’ve had some success with him running the football against this team, and obviously the explosive run down there was huge. To finish it off with the sweep around the edge, which I thought we blocked pretty well on both those runs, it was good to see.”

Jameis Winston completed 23-of-34 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns, and is still the unquestioned starting quarterback as he directed a five-play, 47-yard go-ahead drive with 48 seconds left that gave the Saints a 1-point lead on Will Lutz’s 51-yard field goal. The defense also blocked a late 63-yard attempt at the whistle to hold on for the win

But Hill remains thick in the rotation, and his usage was high in the Saints’ fourth-straight win in a season opener.

“Our team is tough and gritty, and that’s exactly the way they played tonight,” Allen said. “It wasn’t perfect. There are a ton of things we’ve got to get cleaned up.

“We’re not going to win a lot of games playing the way we did today. We’re going to have to be a lot better … but I’m proud of the way we fought at the end.”

Among other Utah locals on the Saints’ roster, former Judge Memorial standout Kaden Elliss — the son of University of Utah great Luther Elliss — made three tackles. Former BYU safety Daniel Sorensen and Utah linebacker Chase Hansen also played on defense and special teams.

Former BYU running back Tyler Allgeier, the Falcons’ fifth-round draft pick in April, was inactive from Atlanta’s game day roster Sunday with no indication of an injury.

Here’s a look at former Utah high school and college football standouts during Week 1 of the 2022 NFL regular season.

Monday Night Football

Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks

Broncos (0-0)

• Garrett Bolles, OT, Utah/Snow/Westlake

Seahawks (0-0)

• Cody Barton, LB, Utah/Brighton
• Bryan Mone, DT, Highland

Sunday Night Football

Tampa Bay 19, Dallas 3

Buccaneers (1-0)

• No locals on the active roster

Cowboys (0-1)

• Dalton Schultz, TE, Bingham: Starting tight end caught seven passes for 62 yards
• Simi Fehoko, WR, Brighton: Reserve receiver caught two passes for 12 yards

Sunday afternoon

New Orleans 27, Atlanta 26

Saints (1-0)

• Taysom Hill, TE, BYU: Converted quarterback ran for a team-high 81 yards on four carries, including an 11-yard touchdown run, and caught one pass for two yards
• Daniel Sorensen, S, BYU: Reserve safety played mostly on special teams
• Chase Hansen, LB, Utah/Lone Peak: Reserve linebacker had one tackle on special teams
• Kaden Elliss, LB, Judge Memorial: Reserve linebacker made three tackles on defense

Falcons (0-1)

• Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU: Inactive for Week 1

Los Angeles 24, Las Vegas 19

Chargers (1-0)

• Michael Davis, CB, BYU: Starting cornerback had three tackles
• Kyle Van Noy, LB, BYU: Reserve linebacker made three tackles that included two solo stops and combined with Davis on another
• Alohi Gilman, S, Orem: Reserve safety made one tackle on defense

Raiders (0-1)

• Jackson Barton, OT, Utah/Brighton: Rotated at offensive tackle
• Andre James, OC, Herriman: Started at center

Kansas City 44, Arizona 21

Chiefs (1-0)

• No locals on the active roster

Cardinals (0-1)

• Leki Fotu, DT, Utah/Herrman: Reserve defensive tackle posted two stops
• Nick Vigil, LB, Utah State/Fremont: Starting linebacker made three tackles

Minnesota 23, Green Bay 7

Vikings (1-0)

• No locals on the active roster

Packers (0-1)

• Jordan Love, QB, Utah State: Backup quarterback completed 4-of-5 passes for 65 yards, including the second-longest play on offense
• Tipa Galeai, LB, Utah State: Reserve linebacker made one tackle on special teams
• Dallin Leavitt, S, Utah State/BYU: Reserve safety played primarily on special teams

New York 21, Tennessee 20

Giants (1-0)

• No locals on the active roster

Titans (0-1)

• No locals on the active roster

Washington 28, Jacksonville 22

Jaguars (0-1)

• Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah: Starting linebacker had a team-high 11 tackles, including eight solo stops.

Commanders (1-0)

• Dax Milne, WR, BYU/Bingham: Reserve receiver was targeted once, and returned two punts for 22 yards and two kickoffs for 44 yards.

Baltimore 24, New York 9

Ravens (1-0)

• Tyler Huntley, QB, Utah: Did not play
• Marcus Williams, S, Utah: The starting free safety had a team-high 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops, a pass defended and a 33-yard interception return.

Jets (0-1)

• Zach Wilson, QB, BYU/Corner Canyon: DNP (injury)

Miami 20, New England 7

Dolphins (1-0)

• Eric Rowe, S, Utah: Inactive for Week 1.

Patriots (0-1)

• Harvey Langi, LB, BYU/Utah/Bingham: Reserve linebacker played mostly on special teams.

Houston 20, Indianapolis 20

Colts (0-0-1)

• Julian Blackmon, S, Utah/Layton: Starting free safety had one tackle in the NFL’s first tie of the year.

Texans (0-0-1)

• No locals on the active roster.

Philadelphia 38, Detroit 35

Eagles (1-0)

• Britain Cove, WR, Utah/Timpview: Reserve receiver returned two punts for 13 yards
• Sua Opeta, OL, Weber State/Stansbury: Reserve guard played sparingly
• Noah Togiai, TE, Hunter: Reserve tight end was targeted once

Lions (1-0)

• Jamaal Williams, RB, BYU: Reserve running back ran for 28 yards on 11 carries, including two touchdowns of 1-yard each, and caught one pass for 2 yards
• Penei Sewell, OL, Desert Hills: Started at right tackle

Pittsburgh 23, Cincinnati 20

Steelers (1-0)

• Jaylen Warren, RB, Utah State/Snow/East: Reserve running back ran for 7 yards on that carry
• Miles Killebrew, S, Southern Utah: Reserve safety played mostly on special teams

Bengals (0-1)

• Jalen Davis, CB, Utah State: Reserve cornerback played mostly on special teams
• Jay Tufele, DT, Bingham: Inactive for Week 1

Chicago 19, San Francisco 10

Bears (1-0)

• Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah: Starting cornerback totaled four tackles, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble
• Patrick Scales, LS, Utah State/Weber: Long snapper played nine snaps on special teams
• Braxton Jones, OT, SUU/Murray: Started at left tackle

49ers (0-1)

• Fred Warner, LB, BYU: Starting mike linebacker had six tackles, including four solo stops
• Mitch Wishnowsky, P, Utah: Punted four times for 161 yards (40.3 yards per punt) with a long of 51 yards

Cleveland 26, Carolina 24

Browns (1-0)

• Sione Takitaki, LB, BYU: Reserve linebacker had one tackle on defense and another on special teams

Panthers (0-1)

• Brady Christensen, OL, BYU/Bountiful: Started at left guard

Thursday Night Football

Buffalo 31, Los Angeles 10

Bills (1-0)

• Zack Moss, RB, Utah: Reserve running back ran for 15 yards on six carries with one fumble, and caught six passes for 21 yards
• Taron Johnson, CB, Weber State: Starting nickel had nine tackles, including five solo stops, to go along with a tackle for loss and a pass defended

Rams (0-1)

• Terrell Burgess, S, Utah: Played 17 snaps on special teams
• Bobby Wagner, LB, Utah State: Starting middle linebacker made seven tackles with a sack and a quarterback hurry while playing all 59 defensive snaps
• Jonah Williams, DT, Weber State: Reserve defensive tackle played seven snaps on defense, seven more on special teams

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