The New Orleans Saints don’t currently have a lot going right for the franchise. While they do have a new Head Coach, Kellen Moore, that has a lot of people excited, the roster doesn’t have lot of positives right now.

The quarterback room is in rough shape, the offensive line is already dealing with injuries, and the defense has a lot of holes across the board. But there might be one diamond in the rough lurking with the franchise.

Who Is Tommy Mellott?

Much like Taysom Hill, Mellott is a quarterback from small areas in the northwest. Taysom Hill grew up in Pocatello, Idaho while Tommy Mellott comes from Butte, Montana. Hill went to BYU, and Mellott went to Montana State. So there are some personal parallels between the two.

While Mellott was in high school, he put up crazy numbers. Including throwing for nearly 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in his senior year. He rushed for 1,217 yards and 16 touchdowns that year too.

Photo by Amanda Loman/Getty Images

Photo by Amanda Loman/Getty Images

In college, Mellott threw for over 6,000 yards in his career, while rushing for 3,517 yards. He accounted for 55 touchdowns in the air, and 43 on the ground. During his senior year at Montana State, he led the team to a 15-1 record, and a trip to the NCAA Division 1 Championship Game. But Montana State ended up losing that Championship Game to North Dakota State 35-32.

That season also included a victory over FBS school New Mexico in their first game of the year.

What Are The Saints Doing With Tommy Mellott?

The Saints have added Mellott to their practice squad. He was recently cut by the Las Vegas Raiders, who took him in the NFL Draft earlier this year.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

But just because the Saints are adding Mellott to the practice squad doesn’t mean they intend to turn him into Taysom Hill 2.0 in any way. They may actually plan to just use him as a practice stand-in for mobile quarterbacks they’re going to face this year.

Is Comparing Tommy Mellott To Taysom Hill Fair?

The thing about Taysom Hill is that he truly shined as the “Swiss army knife” under former Saints Coach Sean Payton. It was his crazy offensive mind that drew up creative ways to use Hill in the scheme. Now the Saints are led by Head Coach Kellen Moore, who might not have the same desire to make Hill, or Mellott, into a “Swiss army knife” on the field.

So making the comparisons can be fun, but don’t expect this to be the plan…until you see it for yourself.

Every LSU Player Taken in the NFL Draft Since 2020

Gallery Credit: Getty Images

Â