Ep. 139 | SAINTS SEASON PREVIEW - PART ONE - Position breakdown, tangents, unintended hot takes

In Part One of our Saints Season Preview, we gave yall the breakdowns but in Part TWO we take the gloves off! We're comin' in HOT with our FEARLESS Predictions, our HOT TAKES...AND...our first ever...Corey's LOCK OF THE SEASON! Brought to you by our "Fearless" Sponsor: the Norton Leatherman Spine Center of Louisville, Kentucky and Dr. PAUL CELESTRE! You'll absolutely want to listen to the ENTIRE episode/part two in this one, as some of these predictions are bold, to say the least. Plus, you'll get hear our final record predictions for the 2025 Saints. The win totals may not be pretty, but how we get there is quite the adventure.This one definitely does not disappoint. TUNE IN! WHO DAT?!

It's that time of year again, for the 28 to 3 Podacast SEASON PREVIEW! In this "Part One" of our Season Preview, we go in depth previewing every position group on the roster and what we expect out of each of them - *note tangents INCLUDED - (maybe re LOOMIS). Importantly though, after Nick's rant about Mickey, we give letter grades for each position group - some predictable - some constituting hot takes in and of themselves. This one takes ALL of the twists and turns you've come to love out of the our podcast and/or if you're a first time listener, go ahead and enjoy the banter that no other podcast can bring you in our annual SAINTS SEASON PREVIEW!! (Spoiler - cliffhanger style ending leading into part two of this one). TUNE IN! WHO DAT?!

We got another preseason game in the books, but do we have more or less clarity as to who will take the reins as QB1 for the Saints come Week 1 of the regular season? We dive deep into our breakdown/comparison of the QB's and what route we think the Saints should take moving forward. Either way, there were obvious issues with the "first string" offensive line we rolled out against the Jags, granted we did not have McCoy (or Penning) in the game. But, the fact remains, whoever starts the season at QB will definitely need stronger protection up front. Also, we all agree that we've had some stand out play from our rookie draft picks, pretty much across the class and we've even got some strong play out of some UDFA's and under the radar guys so far. PLUS as a BONUS: Check out our VIDEO episode at https://www.youtube.com/@28to3Podcast to see the team-issued/"authentic" Saints birthday gift the guys and a couple of friends got for Corey. Hint: it really brought him back to his playing days...TUNE IN! WHO DAT?!

Well, the first "game" of the Kellen Moore Era is officially in the books - even if it is just preseason. There was definitely a lot to take away from this one. First game-action against another opponent and action that we could see for ourselves outside of reports we get from training camp practices and scrimmages. Of course, the QB COMPETITION is the main topic of discussion, and we absolutely dive headfirst into that. So...are we as "all-in" on Shough like a lot of the fanbase is after that one - or - are we still holding our breath? Also, was Sunday's performance from Rattler enough to say "we've seen enough" - or - do we still think there's more time for him to show improvement? Also, what bright spots were there on the rest of the team? Draft picks showing out? And who showed they just don't have what it takes, even after one preseason game? We get into all that and more in this one. TUNE IN! WHO DAT?!

We revisit one of our most popular episodes (Ep. 45), and roll out our UPDATED rankings of the Top 10 Saints of all time. Question is not “if” the lists are different from a year and a half ago, but “how different”?? (Especially Corey’s…[insert eye-roll here]). Definitely some interesting takes, perhaps some unpopular ones, and obviously some agreement on no-brainers. Like the first time we did this, this one is an absolute must listen! TUNE IN! WHO DAT?!

It's a debate for which there could be a lot of "right answers", there could be a lot of "wrong answers", except a couple of positions, but which Saints make the cut as the BEST at his position in Saints history? We have our answers for you in this one. It proved to be a solid debate on a few and simple rubber stamps on others. For example, we know its Drew at QB, so we debate who comes in as the SECOND best Saints QB of all time. Do you think any other positions should get the same treatment? Does the LORENZO NEAL debate rear its "ugly" head again?? Fill out your own list! The positions we go over in this one are:QB, RB, FB, WR, TE -- DE/Edge, DT, LB, CB, S -- K, P, KR/PR, STDefinitely a solid listen for any Saints fan, perhaps even educational for those of you "younger" or "more recent vintage" Who Dats. TUNE IN!WHO DAT?!

AAND WE'RE BACK!! It seems like the world was a different place the last time we recorded - Carr had just retired, new Saints fans have been born since then (Congrats to our guy Jono!), wives have appeared on friends' podcast (Saints, City, and Me brilliance at its finest), a garbage truck crashed and got lodged for weeks blocking an on-ramp we all use in the city AND was removed by construction crews....BUT, most importantly, the Saints completed their OTA's and mandatory minicamp (with some paintball and FIve O Fore Golf thrown into the mix), SO...we dive into all of it in this one.Of course, we talk about the Saints "QB Battle" and in true 28 to 3 fashion, we argue and debate it out on what should be expected/how we should view this "battle". Are we expecting big things for Penning in Kellen Moore's offense?? Also, has Alontae Taylor finally accepted his fate as the "Star" of the defense - or simply "not an outside cornerback"?? TUNE IN to hear our takes on it all!WHO DAT?! #FTF

It definitely wasn't what we had on our bingo cards for how the Saints' Derek Carr Saga would end, but the news of his retirement definitely brought the result we wanted: Moving on from Carr and beginning the process of finding the QB of the future. Will it be Shough, Rattler, none of the above? Time will tell, but Carr being off this team provides a breath of fresh air and a clean start that we see as only helping the team moving forward.We get into a post-mortem of where Derek Carr went wrong with this franchise - obviously, he didn't embrace the city as fans would have liked to see - but was that all there was below the vitriol and twitter dragging he always received? Would it have been different if he simply won more games/led us to the playoffs? "Playing quarterback" was his "job", so do we think he was under any requirement to go out of his way to a "NOLA Guy" and be more present around town like Brees was or even Jameis of late? Or, was simply clocking in and clocking out all that we should have expected?Also, retirement...we get into why we think this outcome, in light of all that had come out (or not come out) regarding the extent and timing of his shoulder injury - especially given the statements issued by both the Saints and Carr announcing the retirement - are more reminiscent of a legal settlement allowing both sides to move on without a fight, than simply an aging vet deciding to "hang up his cleats."A lot to discuss in this one. TUNE IN! WHO DAT?!

In one of the most improbable moves, the Saints used ALL NINE of their picks in the 2025 draft. NO trades at all, using all 4 picks in the top 100. Without looking any further, we agree that - from jump - that's the best thing to come out of this draft. Now, after that, we begin to disagree. As a "PROGRAMMING ALERT"...we should mention that we talked about the #ShedeurSlide for about the first 8 minutes...,(falling into our tendency to wander off on tangents, but this time we just happened to do it in the beginning of this episode). SO....we won't be offended if you want to skip ahead to get into the SAINTS draft analysis.BUT - BACK TO THE SAINTS DRAFT! Did we do the right thing with our No. 9 pick? We all love "the player" but was there too much talent on the board when we picked at 9 to sour the pick? Also, did we draft our "QB of the future" with Shough? And was 40 too high to draft him? Other than that, we like our third round picks and think that we did really well on Day 3. Also, does Corey have his Kaden Ellis 2.0 in one of the Saints UDFA's?? (HOT TAKE ALERT!) This one wasn't "quite" as long as our draft preview, but it's still a marathon episode which doesn't leave many stones unturned at all. TUNE IN! WHO DAT?!

This could quite possibly be the ONLY Saints draft preview podcast episode you'll need to listen before the draft begins on Thursday Night. (It's a marathon, so you also may not have time to listen to any others either...)We kick off this episode with a full, "on-air", unedited SEVEN ROUND MOCK DRAFT for the Saints. (Make sure to check out the YouTube Video Ep to see the draft board in action - but we got ya covered with the audio if need be). For the most part, our mock created some options at all of our picks that we could very well see being realistic scenarios, and after it was all said and done....we actually all agree that we'd be satisfied if the Saints come away from the draft with the picks we made. (Spoiler alert: We had the Saints using ALL NINE of their picks.)TUNE IN to hear who we picked in our full round mock draft!After we drafted, we do what we do best, cut up, debate, and go in-depth into virtually "any" scenario we could see the Saints facing beginning Thursday. As always, we have some steadfast disagreements with each other that we don't budge on, but we all agree that with Pick No. 9, there is a very specific group of six players the Saints MUST pick from. After that, it's anyone's game.DON'T MISS this ULTIMATE SAINTS DRAFT PREVIEW EP!WHO DAT?!