Is Haynes King willing to be Taysom Hill? Yes. But new Panthers QB has own goals
The moment the Carolina Panthers signed undrafted rookie quarterback Haynes King, one comparison kept cropping up.
One question, really.
Can he be the Panthers’ version of Taysom Hill?
And after two days of rookie minicamp — with King sporting No. 16 and throwing passes to assistant offensive coaches and some of his fellow rookies — King got the chance to answer the question himself.
“If that’s what the team needs, I’ll do it,” King told reporters on Saturday. “It’s like what I said earlier, with owning your role, owning who you are and doing what’s best for the team and being a great teammate.”
The source of the comparison is natural, if a bit flawed. Hill, of course, is the New Orleans Saints star who for the last nine years has filled one of the more interesting roles in the NFL.
Hill was a quarterback in college at BYU. But at 6-foot-2, 220, he transitioned to tight end in the NFL. And for the bulk of his career, he was employed in all sorts of ways: not only as a receiving tight end, not only as an underrated pass-blocker (as a fullback or TE or even halfback), but also as a gadget quarterback. He was a short-yardage tank, specifically, behind center — peaking in 2020 with 457 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns to go along with his receiving and passing stats and special teams duties.
Hill wasn’t drafted. But his gifts aligned with what Sean Payton needed to spice up the Saints’ offense at the time — and Hill turned that into a special career.
Tilt your head — and maybe squint a little bit — and you can connect Hill and King, the tough and mobile 6-foot-2, 212-pound quarterback the Panthers signed right after the draft.
King is the reigning ACC Player of the Year, after all, and the first Georgia Tech player to finish in the Top 10 of Heisman Trophy voting since Calvin Johnson. King ranked third nationally in total offense at 325.3 yards per game; in total, he recorded 2,967 yards passing and, most compellingly, 953 rushing.
He signed a three-year contract worth up to $3.1 million according to Spotrac. Approximately $250,000 of that is guaranteed, reports say — which is relatively hefty for an undrafted free agent. Such a talent, and such a commitment, made everyone wonder. Understandably so.
But while King said he wants what’s best for the team, he also said he has his own plans, his own goals. When asked if he felt the rampant Haynes King is the next Taysom Hill comparisons were dismissive of his quarterbacking accomplishments, he was honest.
“Not too much,” King said. “At the end of the day, everybody wants to play. Also, Taysom Hill, he’s a pretty good athlete. And a pretty good ball player as well. But I feel like, in my confidence, that I can play quarterback at this level. So that’s my first goal: is to make it as a quarterback and do as best as I can.”
He continued: “But also, at the end of the day, if the team needs that, I’m down for it. But first and foremost, I’m going to try to make it as a quarterback.”
Where Haynes King’s confidence comes from
If it sounds like King’s confidence isn’t easily shaken, it’s because it isn’t.
At least, that’s what his story says.
King grew up in Longview, Texas, the son of a legendary high school coach named John King. Haynes as a high school quarterback led the Longview Lobos to the Class 6A Division II state title in 2018.
Out of high school, the dual-threat QB went to Texas A&M, where he played 10 games in three seasons — in large part because of injuries. He redshirted his first season. He won the starting job in 2021 before suffering a season-ending injury. And in 2022, he suffered another shoulder injury, prompted him to lose the team’s starting job dip into the portal the following season. That’s when he discovered Georgia Tech.
As a Yellow Jacket, he found his footing immediately. The QB with three years of eligibility remaining had no guarantees of NIL money, no guarantees of starting position; he instead brought two Texas A&M teammates along with him — Chase Lane and Andre White — and went to work. In 2023, as a redshirt sophomore, he threw for 2,842 yards and 27 touchdowns while also running for 737 yards and 10 scores. He was one of only two Power Five players with similar numbers. (The other? Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels.)
In 2024, his numbers remained consistent, but his lore grew. He was playing through injury, fighting through pain. Against Georgia in the final game of the team’s regular season that year — his shoulder ailing him so much he could only throw the ball 45 yards down the field at full strength without pads, the story goes — he accounted for 413 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in the 44-42, eight-overtime defeat.
It was so good that even Chris Brazzell, the Panthers’ third-round draft pick and newly minted rookie wide receiver, remembers King.
“I remember that for sure,” said Brazzell, also a native Texan. “Great guy. ... Great leader.”
How Haynes King and the Carolina Panthers are a good fit
Then came the record-breaking 2025, the one in which King ran between the A-gaps, lowering his shoulder against linebackers and outrunning defensive backs. Then came the pre-draft process, where he took a 30 visit to the Panthers, who were looking to add speed and youth to their QB room.
And then came the hours after the NFL Draft, with King signing to Carolina.
The Panthers’ quarterback room is now Bryce Young, Kenny Pickett (another mobile QB), Will Grier and King.
King has impressed thus far since arriving to the facility. At rookie minicamp, he’s looked poised. He led a walk-through among his rookies in a parking lot outside the building for the extra reps, a teammate said. His 25 years of wisdom — yes, he’s older than soon-to-be four-year NFL veteran Young — has helped him a great deal at rookie minicamp, it appears.
“There’s a bunch of ways you can affect the game as a quarterback: with your mind, with your arm and with your legs,” Carolina coach Dave Canales said. “And he can find wins that way. It was great to see him in person: coming off play-actions, the boot legs, and then it was great to see his athleticism from his body through his arm, a lot of zip, a lot of pop there.”
He added: “These camps only go as well as a quarterback’s ability to operate. ... I think we only had two pre-snap penalties in two days. That’s pretty rare for a rookie minicamp. I gotta attribute that to Rashad and to Haynes for operating that way.”
Panthers ‘do a lot of research’
Is it true King faces an uphill climb to making the 53-man roster? Yes. In the first two years under Canales, the Panthers have only had two QBs on the active roster and have kept an additional one on the practice squad — the team opting to use the additional game day slot for an extra lineman, or defender, or someone who can contribute on special teams.
Is it also true that the Panthers could buck that trend this year? That his role could change into something Taysom Hill-esque?
There’s always a possibility.
“What I’ve learned is they care about their culture,” King said of the Panthers. “Their locker room, who they bring in here — they do a lot of research on that.”
That, of course, includes King.
The quarterback whose willing to do anything for his team — but who has his own goals, too.
This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Is Haynes King willing to be Taysom Hill? Yes. But new Panthers QB has own goals."
