Jameis Winston knows that longtime New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has officially hung up his cleats — his next stop will surely be the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. However, Brees' legacy down in New Orleans certainly doesn't help head coach Sean Payton and the rest of the Saints moving forward as the heralded NFC South franchise has a major decision to make under center before the start of the 2021-22 regular season.

With a Week 1 matchup against the always dangerous Green Bay Packers now only a few weeks away, the aforementioned Payton will need to choose his starting quarterback sooner rather than later. With the 2020-21 campaign serving as Brees' last under center for the Saints, it is now down to the tandem of Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill for the right to be the team's starting quarterback for at least the early portion of the regular season.

Based on both history and the team's first few preseason games, it is abundantly clear that Jameis Winston should begin the year as Payton's starter under center for the Saints. If the Saints want to at least try to win some football games in 2021-22, Winston is the right man for the job — though it is unlikely that Payton will show his hand this far ahead of his team's Week 1 clash with another future Pro Football Hall of Fame signal caller in Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

Jameis Winston is the best and most natural QB in New Orleans

Although Taysom Hill served as a quarterback during his collegiate playing days as a member of the BYU Cougars, he has never been a natural signal caller atop the highest level. Upon coming into the league, Hill was immediately turned into a Swiss Army Knife of an offensive weapon while former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Granted Winston had his ups and downs in Tampa Bay, but all of those turnovers were accompanied by a whole lot of yards and a ton of touchdowns. Winston's natural ability to run an offense and be productive when he isn't turning the football over should give him the edge here. Not only that, but a season on the sideline behind recently-retired New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees probably didn't hurt either.

Taysom Hill can play multiple positions while Jameis Winston cannot

If the New Orleans Saints keep Jameis Winston on the sideline as Taysom Hill's back-up, there is no other position that the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal caller can play. On the other hand, if Jameis Winston is tabbed as the team's starting quarterback by head coach Sean Payton, who is one of the most savvy football minds in the game today, Hill has the ability to help the team at wide receiver, running back, tight end and on special teams.

Simply put, if Jameis Winston plays quarterback, Hill's presence throughout the team's offense can stretch the Saints' 53-man roster as far as it can possibly go for all the right reasons.

Payton is no fool and he will be sure to utilize each and every player on his available roster, especially with players like All-Pro wide receiver Michael Thomas still hampered by lingering injury trouble. In the absence of retired quarterback Drew Brees, and obviously the aforementioned Thomas, the Saints offense can use all the help it can get early on in 2021-22 while having both Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill on the field will go such a long way for the new-look NFC South franchise.

Saints already know what they have in Taysom Hill

Over the course of the last several seasons, recently-retired New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was forced to miss extensive time due to injury. During that same span, the Saints got to take a look at what quarterback turned offensive weapon Taysom Hill could do under center. Although he was formidable at times, it was apparent for the majority of his time leading the offense that Hill is not at the caliber of a starting NFL quarterback. It is also worth noting that the Saints do not have as strong of a roster this time around as Hill needs all the help he can get when he takes over the offensive reins — something that won't be possible in 2021-22.

On the other end of the spectrum, while the Saints know what they have in Hill, New Orleans doesn't really know what they have in a revamped Jameis Winston. Although his time with the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to a strange ending due to his gaudy stats paired with some less than stellar turnover numbers, Winston spent last season under the tutelage of a future Pro Football Hall of Famer in Brees while looking pretty good thus far into the offseason.

Head coach Sean Payton should at least see what his team has in a potentially very different Jameis Winston, who could benefit greatly from a fresh start down in New Orleans.