The Eagles may have drafted their own version of a positionless weapon. The Athletic’s Brooks Kubena floated the comparison in a training camp roster breakdown, tagging rookie quarterback Cole Payton as “a southpaw with Taysom Hill comps” and suggesting Philadelphia could deploy him the way New Orleans once used Hill around Drew Brees.
The reference point is a specific one. Hill, an undrafted BYU quarterback, turned into the so-called Human Swiss Army Knife in Sean Payton’s Saints offense, taking direct snaps and gadget carries that eased the physical load on Brees during a stretch when New Orleans went 49-15 and won four straight NFC South titles. Kubena’s argument is that Payton’s size and athleticism could fill a similar utility role behind Jalen Hurts, though he framed it as a camp question rather than a settled plan, with the Eagles still sorting out Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton in their QB2 competition.
Payton arrives with an unusual college profile. At 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, he spent much of his North Dakota State career as a backup, winning a pair of FCS national titles while handling short-yardage and goal-line work, including 13 rushing scores as a 2023 sophomore. Handed the starting job in 2025, he led the Bison to a 12-1 record and piled up 3,496 total yards and 29 touchdowns, split between 16 through the air and 13 on the ground.
The outside reviews land all over the map. Former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps came away impressed after Payton’s March Pro Day, calling him one of the best passers in the class and pegging him as a future franchise arm. Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay was far more measured, writing that Payton is “not going to be anything more than a QB4 as a rookie” with Hurts, Dalton and McKee ahead of him. Kay allowed that a McKee trade could nudge Payton up the depth chart, and noted general manager Howie Roseman has signaled a willingness to keep four quarterbacks in 2026.
