Saints beat writer Larry Holder:
Production-wise, Ben Watson received plenty more opportunities in the passing game even when Josh Hill was healthy. Watson could easily become the main option for Drew Brees with Hill playing more of a second tight end role.
Where Watson stood out Wednesday was in individual drills. The 34-year-old tight end carved up anyone defending him. Hau'oli Kikaha, Jamarca Sanford and even Kenny Vaccaro found all kinds issues stopping Watson from catching passes.
I wrote this about two months ago and I'm doing it again Wednesday: don't sleep on Watson.
With the Jimmy Graham trade, the door is wide open for Hill to emerge for the Saints. He only played 288 snaps in 2014, but still managed to catch 14 passes for 176 yards and five touchdowns on just 20 targets. That was the 5th-highest fantasy points per snap at his position. The Saints are showing a lot of confidence in Hill by not doing much of anything to shore up the position this offseason, so he should be one of the hottest sleepers heading into draft season. Our only concern is that he doesn’t play ahead of Watson on early downs, which would limit his upside. HC Sean Payton has spoke highly of Hill, but referred to “two-TE sets” when discussing Hill’s potential playing time. This indicates that he may not be on the field in one-TE sets. If that's the case, Watson may be the sleeper tight end to own in New Orleans.
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