Taysom Hill was not on many people's radars before signing with the New Orleans Saints in 2017. A former BYU dual-threat star, Hill once decided the NFL can wait after five years in college—opting to spend two years on an LDS mission trip to Australia until giving pro football a shot.

When he finally stepped onto an NFL gridiron, the soon-to-be 29-year-old quarterback was anything but a prototypical quarterback. He was a quarterback/running back/wide receiver/half-back/punt blocker/anything else behind Drew Brees in 2018, his first full season of play.

So, when head coach Sean Payton sees the next Steve Young in him, eyebrows may be raised. After all, he's recorded just seven NFL pass attempts. But, is it all that crazy?

Though Young is now known as a Hall of Famer, he, like Hill, is a former BYU Cougar who had a slow start to his career and flourished as he developed behind an all-time great (per ESPN).

“Well, if you look back at Steve's career, and people don’t remember his time before he came into the NFL, you had a very athletic player that I think advanced when he got to San Francisco. And he always had great ability with his legs,” Payton said.

Hill is not a Super Bowl–winning quarterback yet, but he has shown a cunning resemblance of development to Young. In his latest preseason bout, Hill torched the Los Angeles Chargers—not just with 4.4 legs (pro-day number) but with his arm too. The quarterback threw 11-for-15 for 136 yards and two touchdowns, with 53 rushing yards to boot.

Hill's latest game was his most impressive feat as a Saints passer. Whereas Hill once looked the part of an explosive gadget that can also pass, he now looked more like a passer that can be an explosive gadget.

Below, Hill shows an ability many thought he did not have. Though the receiver is wide open, the play constructed has Austin Carr as more of a decoy. But, Hill reads the defense quickly and adequately to see busted coverage, in turn, throwing a perfect pass for a score. Simple, but a considerable step up from what he once was.

“Ninety-nine point ninety-nine percent of the time, that ball is not thrown to me. We saw the [point zero one percent],” Carr said, per ESPN. “Credit Taysom for finding me.”

Of course, Hill can still turn a dead play into a first-down and then some. His ability as a rusher is unlike most NFL quarterbacks.

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Maybe most important about his performance, Hill brought the Saints from down 17-3 to a 19-17 win in relief for Teddy Bridgewater—his competitor for the No. 2 job.

Though Hill is considered to be a jack-of-all-trades quarterback—a true rarity—the Saints see other things in him. He consistently reaffirms that his progression as a passer is what will take him to the next level, he has shown that can happen, as indicated by his last performance.

“Coach Payton and the other guys on staff have made it clear that they care a lot about my progression at the quarterback position, which gives me a lot of pride. So that’s definitely a priority for me, while making sure that I stay up on all the other things that I'm asked to do,” Hill said.

It is hard to say Hill has not made those progressions. From 2017 as a fringe roster member to 2018 as a fan favorite to 2019 as a quarterback showing signs he is actually a QB, Hill's ascent is not anything like we have seen before. But, it is working, and it could result in another Joe Montana-Steve Young tradeoff, or is that wishful thinking?