As the fantasy football regular season winds down, we at ESPN Fantasy would like to alert you to a key positional eligibility change that will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 24: Taysom Hill will have his tight end eligibility taken away and quarterback will become his primary position. Below, you will find answers to questions you might have with regard to how this impacts your fantasy team and/or league.
1. What will Hill’s eligibility be going forward?
Beginning in Week 12, Hill will be eligible at QB only.
2. Why the change now, and not last week?
Hill played the entire game at QB in Week 11 and is expected to continue in that role, at least primarily, until Drew Brees returns as the New Orleans Saints’ starting quarterback.
Early last week, ESPN Fantasy maintained it would not take away Hill’s primary position eligibility of tight end once the league week began on Tuesday. The reason for this is so fantasy managers were given ample time to make necessary roster assessments and lineup decisions before waivers running early Wednesday morning and in advance of the first game of the week Thursday.
Now that it has been established that Hill will be primarily a QB, and with the above framework in mind, ESPN Fantasy is able to make the change at the start of fantasy Week 12.
3. Will Hill’s eligibility change again this season?
Not likely. Based on what we know, the expectation is that Hill will remain eligible only at quarterback. Note that a player’s eligibility is always at the discretion of ESPN Fantasy, based on what’s best for the competitive balance of the game.
4. What effect does this decision have on my league moving forward?
A fantasy manager who has Hill in his/her TE slot will have an invalid roster and will not be able to make any changes to the roster until Hill is moved to QB or the bench.
If Hill currently is the only TE on your roster, you will need to make arrangements to pick up one off the waiver wire or via free agency.
If your league has minimums and maximums at QB and/or TE, it’s possible this change could invalidate your roster and you might be forced to make roster moves in order to field a valid roster.
5. What if my league doesn’t like these decisions? Is there anything the commissioner can do?
Yes, if you are in a private league, the commissioner can use the league manager tools (LM Tools within the game) to reflect your league’s desired structure.
Among the things that can be adjusted using LM Tools:
The scoring of any matchup
Roster moves to alter starting lineups, within the constraints of positional eligibility
6. My league uses Team QBs and the Saints’ Team QB didn’t accrue points in Week 11. What gives?
Because Hill’s primary position was TE, his Week 11 statistics were not attributed to the Saints’ Team QB. Once his primary position is changed to QB on Tuesday, Nov. 24, his statistics will be applied retroactively for the Week 11 game on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 25, and you will see Saints Team QB fantasy points accurately reflected.
7. Why was Taysom Hill a TE in the first place?
In assessing Hill’s position in ESPN fantasy football for the 2020 season, a couple of factors were taken into account.
Hill’s primary role on offense was expected to come at positions other than QB, due to Brees being the Saints’ starting QB and the expectation that free-agent signing Jameis Winston would serve as the No. 2 option at the position. Secondly, based on 2019 snap data, Hill’s usage was most reflective of a tight end.
Overall, our goal at ESPN Fantasy is to provide fans as much flexibility as possible, while also having all players most accurately reflect their value and usage by their NFL team.
All positional eligibility decisions are at the discretion of ESPN Fantasy and are made in the best interest of fairness, taking many factors into account, including the amount of time fantasy managers have to make changes.
