SAINTS SQUAD SHOW: Alontae Taylor Will Be A BREAKOUT STAR, Other New Orleans Saints Superlatives

SAINTS SQUAD SHOW: Alontae Taylor Will Be A BREAKOUT STAR, Other New Orleans Saints Superlatives

Hello and welcome to the Saints Squad Show. I’m your host Dylan Sanders of Saints Wire and let’s talk more quarterback battle. I’m Russ Jackson, host of the Lock Saints podcast and I am so excited for this 2025 New Orleans Saints season to get underway. John Hendricks, New Orleans football. How you supposed to run a successful business? She ain’t got no she small I’m Darien Gray of who that dish and I personally feel like Am I hearing the echo? What is going on? Play it off. It’s the Saint Squad. Everything New Orleans Saint every week covering all the big hits and gamechanging plays from down in the Big Easy. the way only Locked on Podcast Network can. Get ready and squat up. It’s the Saint Squad Show starting now. Howdy, Huda, Nation, and welcome back to the Saint Squad Show. I’m your host, Dylan Sanders. Uh part of the Lock Podcast are your team every day. Thank you for making us your first listen every Sunday and Thursday. Tonight on a Tuesday, we have a unique group of experts here ready to bring you a fun and forwardive show on everything New Orleans Saints. Today we’re going to be diving into season superlative predictions and it’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s going to carry through most of the show. We’re going to be talking about like breakout stars, bounceback players. Uh who are we going to talk about too much this season? Because you know we love to talk and we love to talk about like five players at Nauseium and it’s going to be have fun. special teams and then at the end we’re going to give you what what we’ve been asked about 20 times per episode. Uh we’re going to give you our final record predictions for this season. No more escaping it for us. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account and use code lock on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. All right, guys. It is it’s that time. We’re almost to the regular season and we’re going to start it off. We’re going to have a fun episode today. We’re going to go through we have about 12 different superlative categories. They’re going to range from serious to a little bit more fun. And there there’s a there’s a wide range. It’s going to be a pretty fun show. Let’s start off. We’re each going to give our answer for for one of the categories. So, let’s start off with Ross. Who is going to be the breakout star of the 2025 season? Dylan, let me ask you too, just for uh just for rules sake. We’re we’re still able to kind of comment on one another. I just want to make sure if I needed to edit myself down. If I needed to edit myself, we’re going to talk. It would not be the first time. There’s one person. I won’t pick two people. I promise. Yeah. Yeah. I doubt that. I doubt that. So, my first one is Breakout Star. Um for me, this is super simple. I’m gonna go with Alante Taylor. Uh Alante Taylor to me is one of the players that is in the best possible scenario in terms of coming out of the system that he was once in and then going into a new system that that that kind of supports his skill set. I I think that he should be a lot of fun to watch here throughout the 2025 season. I don’t know if he’s going to be ready week one. I think we’ll get a better understanding of that once we get out to practice uh throughout this week and uh welcome the return of injury reports. Uh but as of right now, as I project throughout the entire part of the season, I absolutely look at Alante Taylor as a breakout star uh in this defense and they need him to be. I mean, Brandon Staley rant and rave and talk about his usage. I mean, I think that’s spot on. I really look forward to what Alante can get on the field. He needs to be the guy and he is CB1. So, I I love that pick. He opened up the season last year with three sacks. I don’t know if he gets three sacks against Kyler Murray if he’s out there this weekend. But I can promise you this, if he’s out there this weekend, he’s going to be a very, very busy guy because he’s going to have a lot of different responsibilities for sure. And I think that probably is one of the reasons why he is a good candidate as a breakout because he’s going to have to do so many things, right? He’s going to have to cover in the slot. He’s going to have to cover on the outside. He’s going to be tasked with being in the mix and run defense. He’s going to have to blitz. And I think this week he’ll probably do it a decent amount. you want to try to get athletic guys to be around Kyler Murray who is an escape artist. So I think you’ll see Alante be sent a decent amount to try to play contain better than some of the bigger guys. Uh so I think that he’s a perfect candidate for breakout because of all the things you’re going to ask him to do and all of the things like John said you’re going to need him to do. It is uh I feel like they have to have someone break out in that quarterback room. But I I do love Alante because honestly, you know, Kool-Aid, if he comes out as a star, I don’t even know if that’s a breakout. It’s it’s expected for the second round rookie at this point to, you know, have a have a have a much better year. Alante is someone we’ve been waiting on to see that breakout. We’ve seen flashes of talent. Everyone knows he can be that guy, but he just hasn’t been a guy that’s like, well, man, they have to extend uh or you know, stuff like that. So, we’re waiting for him to still do that. And I think now is the year that you finally can because I do think this defense really, really fits it. Yeah. All right, let’s go over to our second category with John. Who is your bounceback candidate for this season? Who needs to have a better year than before? It can be energy. It can be uh, you know, a bad performance last year. Who’s who’s bouncing back? I mean, they got all these injured players, but I’m going to go with a guy I probably could have put in Ross’ category, but I’m going to go here. I’m gonna say Kendra Miller, right? I think Chris Lave and Rashi is probably the easiest answer, but I’m going to say Kendra Miller. I think just based off of the fact of him getting the new fresh slate, the fact that he’s healthy, he’s finally 100%. He looks jazzed up and juiced for this particular this this run. He looks to be the guy who can compliment Alvin Kamir. I mean, look, we thought Clyde Edwards might stick around. Maybe not so much on on Cam Acres, but you know, they’re they’re going to lean a lot on Kre Miller and this run game has got to get going. They don’t have Taesm Hill. I think Kre Miller when it’s all said and done is going to be one of those guys we talk about. I was like, man, he he really is going to bounce back. He’s going to do what he needs to stay available. And look, I I don’t know what that’s going to look like. It could probably look like 600 750 yards rushing. I don’t know. Put a couple of touchdowns on it. I’d like to see him more active in the passing game. Uh, you know, so I feel like it’s got to be Kre for me. I like that pick a lot. I like Yeah, I I have something to say about Kendrick later, so I’m I’m gonna keep it relatively brief, but I’ll tease that. Just file that away. Yeah, I I I like that. Again, that’s another one. He could kind of be that breakout star, but I I do think that more than a breakout, he just needs to bounce back from three years of not really being involved in the or two, three years of not really being involved at all. Uh and it’s going to be I think it’s I’m excited to see what he can do because that the last couple of preseason games were really exciting for him. So much burst, so much so much talent. Like I just every time you see him touch, he’s just like it was almost like early AK. You just knew that he just had a chance to do something special with the ball. And I still think AK can, but like with Kre, if he’s really healthy and just the way he’s able to bounce off a contact and just kind of like go Gumby, bendy, and all this other stuff when he gets hit, like I just look forward to seeing that. Some people know what Gumby is. Yeah, let’s go. Oh man. Is it bad that whenever I think of uh Gumby, I first think of Saturday Night Live? No. Because that’s exactly what I think. I don’t think so. It’s not bad. That’s not bad. Yeah, that’s fine. They’re both They’re both equally They’re both equally like um They’re both references that equally give away how old we all are. Sure. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like either way. Either way. Some it’s old and some it’s having a roommate that’s obsessed with Saturday Night Live. Yeah. Well, we don’t talk about your roommate. Oh, we don’t. Sorry. That’s my bad. We can’t talk about him. Uh problematic individual. Um, let’s move on to uh number three. It’s a bit of a fun one. Darien, the Marcus Coloulston Silent Assassin Award. Who is the hidden gem that we’re going to be like, man, nobody is talking enough about this guy? I I don’t know who that’s going to be at the end of the year, but let me put a little twist on it. I’m going to tell you who I think it is now. I don’t think we’re paying enough attention to Talia Fuanga because I feel like when we’re talking about the offensive line, he’s arguably the fourth or fifth most talked about guy in that position group. You look at Eric McCoy, we know who Eric McCoy is. We know what the impact of his departure was last year. So, of course, everybody’s going to talk about him in deservedly so. Kelvin Banks Jr. top 10 pick coming in as a left tackle blind side. Even though we tend to, you know, place a premium on both of the tackles now, there’s still a bias to the left side, Trevor Penning going into left guard, everybody’s paying attention to that because we want to see this is your last opportunity. Are you going to be able to make it here at the end of the day? And then if you ask certain fans, they may be talking about CJ Ruiz for other reasons. So you you’re talking about fourth to fifth most discussed player on that offensive line. And it’s easy to forget that as a rookie just last year, he blanked Miles Garrett, one of the best defensive linemen in the game. So when you look at Fuanga, I think that he’s extremely talented. I don’t think that he’s going to be somebody that we talk a lot about this season. And honestly, that’s a good thing because as an offensive tackle, if no one’s talking about you and we’re not already looking at you, that means you’re doing good. And people eyes are going to be glued on that wall from the center to the left tackle for a variety of reasons. I don’t think people are going to be focused on Tali Fuanga, but I think he’s going to play just as well as he did as a rookie. So, let him be my silent assassin. Let us not talk about him because I think that means he’s doing a really good job. That’s excellent. Polynesian power. Let’s go. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yeah, I like that. Right. Like the the whole thing about offensive linemen is that you only talk about them when there’s something wrong, right? So, you kind of want him to be the silent assassin in that way. That’s great. It’s a good pick. Mhm. Yeah. I mean, and because everybody is now being like, “Oh, he’s they’re moving him away from left tackle.” That’s not because he didn’t do good. They’re not drafting a left tackle because they’re like, “Man, TS Funo was an a disappointment last year.” He had a very good rookie season, but he is more natural on that right side. Yeah. Yeah. And you’re not going to draft a left tackle that was a Lombardi, you know, award winner, an out outland trophy winner and draft him in the top 10 and say, “Yeah, but don’t play the position that made you a top 10 pick.” Right? Like that’s a Shawn Payeyton move. They’re not doing that anymore. They’re kind of done with that idea. They’re drafting guys to play positions that they’re actually in. And so I think that’s the other the other thing too, like when you have a guy that has that right tackle background like Tela does, it gives you a chance to be able to keep Kelvin Banks where it is that he’s most comfortable and then still get Fango where he’s most comfortable. And I think that that’s like an excellent Look, you got four first round picks with an offensive line. Again, you got one second round pick that should have been a first round pick. Like these guys got to dominate here in 2025. So I I love the offensive line love there. And let me praise Talas one more time. Yeah, I thought the move to left tackle was strange. I didn’t like that they didn’t put him at right tackle as a rookie. And the fact that he still performed very well at a position that was unfamiliar to him and now he’s going to his natural position, it just gives me even more confidence in his learning curve, right? I don’t think it’s going to be steep for him. I think he’s going to be able to get accustomed to be on the right side really quickly. So, I I have nothing but praise for him from his rookie year and I think it’s going to be the same in year two. Yeah, man. Love it. All right, I have the most likely to make you hit replay uh award superlative. And I feel like there’s a bunch of different ways where you can take this. I’m going to go a the way that I didn’t think I was going to do whenever I was writing these out. And I’m going to go with Brian Brassie because that he’s a guy that after a play that he wrecks, I’m like, “Oh, he kind of came out of nowhere. Let me go back and watch that. Let me go hit replay, watch what he did.” And then I see what he did and I go, “Let me watch replay again.” Because he just he he got there with such ease. Where do you see it? It’s kind of doubling up. I love I love watching private receiver play defensive tackle. Uh because I think that he’s really And again, he’s a guy that I feel like the outside of the New Orleans Saints world does not get enough love for just how good of a pass rusher he is on the interior. Uh because again I think people will be put on notice and people are gonna start hitting that replay button this year with him. I mean they did it early on in OTAA’s mini camp when he was tossing Trevor Penny like a rag doll. I mean so right it’s just one of those I I’m with you. I I do think that he has another level to unlock under Bo Davis. Um and I look the knock has been about the run defense right but I do feel like he’s improved a lot there especially playing next to Devon Godshaw. I I think it’s kind of a little bit uh hard for him not to do what he needs to do there. And so he’s going to get after the quarterback, man. And they need to finish plays. Brazie led the team in sacks last year. I’m really wondering, we’ve talked about it on previous shows, what the ceiling is for somebody like him. I’m really intrigued to see what he is able to do this year. But man, it’s uh he he’s got a lot of power deceptive to him, you know, where he just you look at it how he plays on the tape and it’s just like, man, is this guy for real? Yeah. And now now he’s in this defense where you have these edge rushers that are rushing from a wide nine which is pulling those tackles away creating some space there. You got a big space eater in the middle like Devon Godshaw that’s taking up you know that that middle and you’re going to see Brian Brezie as well as Nathan Shepard in one-on-one situations against guards. That’s a great matchup if you’re trying to rush the passer and you’re Brian Breazie, right? Like there’s we know guard play around the NFL is not great like around the entire league. And so now all of a sudden you have this guy who is incredibly athletic, that’s very strong, and that’s relentless in terms of his motor. And now all of a sudden he’s getting one-on-one matchups against guards on the inside slash still having the ability to play to the outside because of the space that you’re creating between tackle and guard in the system. Like I I think he’s I think he’s poised. I I almost picked him for breakout player honestly, but it felt like he kind of broke out last year and everything. And so I yeah, I think he’s I think he’s in store for a really nice season here or at least nice opportunities. And I think that you guys brought up great points about who he’s around. And I think that the system giving him more space, hopefully that does benefit him as a run defender because one of the things you brought up, John, is not being talked about enough. And when I do hear him talked about, it’s often about his deficiencies. Oh, he doesn’t he doesn’t stop the run this that. But I think if he becomes a better pass rusher, excuse me, a better run stopper, we’ll have more conversations about his ability to rush the passer because I don’t expect that to go down. I expect him to be able to do that. And if he can have more success in that aspect of the game, not only are we going to hear more about Brian Brazie, I think we’re going to hear him talked about in a much much different way as one of the better players at his position because now he’ll be a dual threat, so to speak. But really, we should just say a complete player. Yeah. Yeah. I like that. I like that. All right, we’re gonna keep this superlative train going into uh when we come right back. Let’s let’s talk more New Orleans Saint season. It’s It’s so I’m just so excited that we’re talking about the season and it’s like it’s like a week away. It’s so exciting. Less than a week away. Not even a week. Yeah. The NFL season is back and honestly, there’s nothing better than being in a stadium surrounded by fans cheering on your team. Let’s be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle. Between cues, login screens, and prices jumping out at checkout, it can be frustrating. That’s why I use Game Time, the app that gives the advantage back to the fans. Game time is fast, easy, and backed by the Game Time guarantee. You’ll always get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time and at the best price. Plus, all fees are included. So, the price you see is the price you pay. Last year, I bought a ticket for a group of people to go to an LSU game. Ross was one of those people. And it was so easy that even though I’m not going this year, I’m still the one that has to buy the tickets because they trust me. Game time is so easy. I don’t even mind doing it because whenever I pull up Game Time and in just a couple of taps, I see amazing deals. I’m talking your favorite NFL games as low as $100. Download the Game Time app. Create an account and use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, that’s code that’s promo code locked on NFL. L O C A D O N L for $20 off. Swipe tap ticket. Go download game time today. The Fan FanDuel in the NFL season is almost here and FanDuel is making sure you’re ready for a kickoff with a can’tmiss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 $300. $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Let’s take a look at a couple of Saints prop bets that might be able to get you that $300. I love Rasheed Shahiva over 34 and a half receiving yards. That’s all. He’s going against Will Johnson. Will Johnson? I don’t even I don’t even know where that guy is. He had a strong camp and has flashed the ability in the preeason. He averaged 17 and a half yards per reception last year. And this is an unproven Cardinal secondary that includes Will Johnson. Another option is Jawan Johnson. That’s my favorite guy. Johnson pause the same breath targets this season. So, are you ready to play? Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanduel.com to get started. That’s fuel.com to place your first $5 bet. Oh my god. Oh my goodness. Okay, sorry about that. Anyway, is that the FCC call? Just kidding. Let’s get back to it with our season superlatives. Oh my gosh. Uh the land award. Ross, the L Yap award always brings that something extra. Who is it? All that and a little bit of land yap as some say. I’m gonna go with I’m gonna go with uh running back Jones Jr. Um I’m putting him in the land because Yeah, because I I I think that his contributions are going to be more widespread than his position designation, right? And so he literally gives you a little bit of land yap everywhere. Like this would be such an easy award to give to like Taesm Hill for instance, but who knows, you know, what goes on with him. But like I was trying to think about that kind of player who has an impact from a bunch of different ways. And I I think that Bis is the one that checks the box for me. I don’t know if you guys saw this, but the Saints released their unofficial week one. You know what I’m talking about, unofficial week one depth chart. And for the first time since he arrived in New Orleans, Rasheed Ji was not listed as a kick returner. He was listed as the primary punt returner, but he was not listed as a kick returner. The two kick returners instead were Vis Jones Jr. and Kendre Miller. So, that’s one place, right? So, you have the opportunity with Bailis to be able to get him involved in the run game. He already brings you a little bit of land yap there because he’s got 4-31 speed. He brings something to this running back room that no other running back has brought to this room since I think we’ve talked about this before. I said like CJ Spiller was probably the last guy that I felt like was like the real big like speed running back during that time. Um, and then he also gives you somebody that has former wide receiver speed or excuse me, that has former wide receiver experience and so you could line him up in the slot out wide, utilize him a bunch of different ways. And then finally, he get helps you in the return game. He is literally the LAN Yap guy during this season for me. So, I’m going to give that award, the LAN award to Bailis Jones Jr. I love it. I mean, what is there to say? It’s the Bis Jones Jr. award now. Like Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah. I mean, I just look forward to I mean, especially the league that they’re changing the kickoff format. I mean, I think he just brings that explosive element to it where the Saints could actually have pretty good starting field position. I think he might be a little bit more aggressive in some aspects, but like again, you could run him in the back field, too. Like we talk about I don’t know is do they dress a Devin Neil on game day or is that spot going to be Vist and he’s going to get some work in the back field and maybe just a couple of carries or try to roll him out on some some quick stuff RPO stuff. I mean I think the options are limitless when it comes to Vis Jones Jr. And I I just really love the fact that they got this guy so like a little bit later in the process kind of in a way. And so I just feel like, you know, in some aspects, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as they always say. And then the team that gave up and couldn’t make it work, the Saints look like they can make him work. And they’re going to look like geniuses because of it. Yeah. I think he’s gonna be used everywhere, like you said, like I think that he’s going to make he’s going to be very effective. He might not have eyepopping numbers. He might not be overly productive, but I think he’ll be very effective. I think that he’ll be a guy they use in a screen game. I think he’ll be a guy that they move around maybe in in motion or, you know, I just think he’s going to be somebody who when he’s on the field, you want to watch. He might not be on the field a lot, but when he is on the field, you want to watch. And when you have players like that, it sets up for a fake screen go. It just sets up for a lot of different things where, hey, why is he on the field? Let’s pay attention to him. And then boom, you got your eyes in the wrong place. So, I think that Jones Jr. is a a really good addition. We’ve already acknowledged that he is the Lap Award, right? But as far as Saints offense, he does so many things or opens the door for so many things. Yeah. John, why don’t you go for the one we will talk too much about this season. Man, uh I I I think it’s probably going to be Spencer Rattler. I mean, whether it’s good, bad, or ugly. I mean, we’re going to talk about Spencer Rattler till we’re blue in the face, right? in in the fact that whether they win games with Spencer Rattler, whether they win almost win games because of what Spencer Rattler does or they don’t look good because of what Spencer Rattler does. I I just feel like as of right now, and he’s firmly in the driver’s seat. He’s not the guy like they’re not doing this weekly. Oh, is Tyler Shuck gonna end up starting or anything? Like, we’ll know if it gets to that point at some point, but they’re going to try to make things work with Spencer Rattler, but until, you know, if he comes out and looks good these first couple of games or looks comfortable, I don’t think good in in terms of stat, just looks comfortable, doesn’t rush things, still be able to get out and kind of establish his tempo, get some good rhythm going. And of course, we know they’re going to lean on this ground game a lot, so it makes Spencer Spencer’s job a little bit easier. and we want this defense to be a lot better than it has been in previous years. And so I think that takes a lot of pressure off of Spencer Rattler. But again, you’re going to live, breathe, and die by what the quarterback does. You either win games with the quarterback, you lose games with the quarterback. It’s the quarterback’s fault. It’s the quarterback’s fault. It’s the quarterback’s fault. So it’s got to be Spencer Rattler for me. Whose fault is it? It’s the quarterback, right? It’s always the quarterback. Sorry. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. Yeah, I missed it, too. No, I appreciate you asking. I was still thinking about I was still thinking about Dylan quarterback. Um I completely forgot about it. I’m sure you did. Well, exactly. Um John, I have a question for you. If something goes wrong, who do we blame? Uh I think we blame the section 600 for not yelling loud enough. Not like a little twist. Since we’re Since we’re talking about quarterbacks, let’s go with Darien. And the opposing quarterback’s nightmare. Who on this Saints defense is going to make opposing quarterbacks stay up the night before the game? I’m going with Kool-Aid McKinstry. I think that when you look at the end of his rookie year, and there’s a couple of ways we could have went, but the reason I went with Kool-Aid over, you know, some of the other candidates is age, to be honest. And I think that experience also plays a factor where he’s at a point where a natural progression would be happening. And you have other reasons to feel like somebody’s gonna take a step up like Chase Young, he has, you know, new system. We feel like this. But going into your second year, I think that we already saw it bubbling in his rookie season. So when you think about Kool-Aid going into year two, well, I just feel like a natural jump is on the way. And if he can make that jump, he doesn’t have to be our PS2. He doesn’t have to be Derek Stingley, right? like no one’s asking for him to be that. We’ll gladly take it, but that’s a huge jump to ask. I just think he needs to be a really good number one corner or be a number one corner. Be a really good corner. And he can be a guy who takes away a half of the field. I think this is going to really lend to his strengths. It lends to something he’s familiar with from his time in college. So, I think that when looking at game planning, Kool-Aid McKinstry is set up for a natural jump. Excuse me, a natural jump in year two and becoming the opposing quarterback’s nightmare is the way that I would I would phrase that. Excuse me. Yeah, you got Z Jones and Marvin Harrison Jr. in week one. I’m really interested to see how that’s going to work. Are they going to just do sides? Are they going to match up him with Marvin Harrison Jr.? I I don’t know. I’m really excited to see how that kind of unfolds as the year progresses, especially this game plan against Kyler Murray. But they got two good receivers that they’re going to have to really worry about. Oh, plus that Trey McBride fella, too. So, I’m really not to jump the gun into probably a later segment on show, different show, but you know. Yeah. Yeah. Can I ask I want to ask John and Ross something? So, we weren’t at practice. I wasn’t at practice. I think Die might have got out to some, but Okay, I’ll just ask John. Uh but no, so Kool-Aid, he was like the talk of camp and then we as people who are sitting at home then get to see him in the preseason game and I think a lot of people may panic and say, “Oh, well that’s not the guy you guys talked about.” But just kind of speak to the improvements you did see because that should be I think more important because we seen it or you guys saw it day in day out week in week out as opposed to one 10 to 15 snap session in a game. Yeah, I default to Ross in that one. He he got to hone in on Kool-Aid a lot more than I did. Sorry. Sure. No, you’re good. Good. Um I I hate the question, but No, I’m just kidding. But I’ll answer it anyway. Uh no, but yeah. Uh, no. If you look at what he did during the final game up against Diver Brock, who gave up three catches for 64 yards, all of which encompassed the Courtland Sutton and I knew and I know that for a lot of people it was like, wait, hold up, that’s that doesn’t sound like what we heard like you mentioned. I think the big thing that we saw from him though was his ability all throughout training camp to have that short memory and we saw that really pick up all throughout all throughout the season last year. What helps him a ton right now is that confidence level that he’s got. The fact that he has kind of moved into this uh opportunity now to where he has uh a defensive system that’s very much like what he played in college with Nick Sabin and the Crimson Tide, a former version of the Crimson Tide than what we just recently saw this weekend. But anyway, the thing that I look at when it comes to with Kool-Aid is just like that comfort level, that confidence, and the fact that he just kind of resets and goes to the next play or resets, goes to the next play, and everything like that. And so, he’s going to be in a primary role. He’s going to see a lot of targets, whichever side he’s on. But the fact that he gets to play with a little bit more vision on the quarterback makes him more comfortable. The fact that he plays in a defense that is that match scheme, that vision match defense, that makes him more comfortable. And in the fact that he’s going to effectively be relied upon to be that, you know, one of the top guys at that position that makes him more comfortable as well. And so I think that it’s the comfort, it’s the confidence, and it’s the short memory that we saw from him all throughout camp. And just the physical nature with which he plays like he is playing at a more comfortable weight that’s allowing him to play at a more comfortable speed and it’s allowing him to be a little bit more physical as well because he trusts kind of his, you know, we trust his strength right now. So, I think all of those things put together are amongst the reasons why we highlighted him so much through training camp. I know that it didn’t play out during his 15 or so snaps against the Denver Broncos, but he’s going to have himself a pretty strong year here. Yeah, I’d also throw in Terry Joseph and Brandon Staley. I mean, the job that they’ve done with coaching him as well. I mean, it just it just this scheme. Again, we talk about how many players on this defense benefit from the scheme change. And I feel like this is going to be a good one for Kool-Aid as well. And they’re going to make him they’re going to trust him a lot with this. And he’s got to be that guy, too. Especially with Alante kind of coming back from this injury and such. I mean, I think Alante will be just fine. But as of right now, Kool-Aid has to be your best guy. And we talked about last year how technically sound he is. I I don’t get too wrapped up because you’ve seen people that have done well in camp that, you know, poo poo the bed when it comes to preseason and stuff. I wouldn’t worry too too much about that. Like it’s you don’t get the uh the full experience when you go into preseason a lot too. Like they didn’t really call a lot of blitzes and all these other things. So, it’s like I wouldn’t go too crazy over that, but you know, I think you’ll be just fine. But with good coaching helps, too. All right, I’m going to close out this one uh this little segment of superlatives with a quick one. It’s an easy one, I think, because there’s only one real answer that came to mind of the who is going to make themselves the most money this season. Uh and I think it’s Rasheed Shahid. He is an undrafted free agent. He’s going to be a focal point of this offense. and whenever he is on the field, he it’s impossible not to watch him and it’s impossible not to see him play and be impressed with what he’s doing. So, I think that there’s there’s no one else that comes to mind that is going to have as much of an opportunity uh to make themselves a lot of money because you look at the other guys who are headed to free agency like Deario Davis, Cam Jordan, Taesm Hill, they’ve already made their money. uh they’re not going to be, you know, breaking the bank with big extensions. If there’s someone that’s gonna sign a big money deal after this season, I think it’s Rasheed Shahit. Yeah. With being one of those guys. Yeah. He’s going into his fifth, right? And even with Alante, like slot corners are not going to ever get paid as much as wide receivers. You know what I mean? Like you’re just not going to make that much money. Yeah. All right. Coming up next, uh after this completely normal ad break, uh we’re going to continue wrap up our superlatives and there might be another face joining us for the last little bit. Th this episode is presented by Yahoo Fantasy. 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Prefer the classics? Get your crew together and go ahead to uh go head-to-head in a private league. No crew, no problem. Join a public league, which is the easiest way to play. The NFL season kicks off on September 4th, so don’t wait. Start your league now, tonight. Draft now at yahoo fantasy.com/lockton NFL. That’s yahoo fantasy.comlockon. I made it. [Laughter] All right. Oh, and boom. Lance is here. Hey, Lance is here for our last segment. Looks like a fresh birthday, man. Last segment of Superlatives. Last last segment of superlatives. Um, and this one has this segment has has a little bit of a theme. I’m going to see if y’all can pick up on it. I’m not going to give it away. Uh, Ross, actually, let’s start with Lance because Lance hasn’t been here. Uh, Lance, go ahead with the Muffaletta Award. He does a little bit of everything. Yeah. Uh, one of the greatest sayings that I’ve ever heard in my life, uh, and I truly agree with it, especially on a night like tonight, is better late than never. So, I’m happy to join you guys. Uh, you know, I I I I as soon as Dylan sent the rundown, I was like, “Oh, man. I can’t miss this whole show. Like, I got to get a little piece of this.” Like, this is this is this is a little bit different. Got me a little bit excited talking about superlatives, what guys are going to be doing, who we’re going to be talking about. um in the Muffetta Award. I mean, a guy that does a little bit of everything or a lot of everything. And I I haven’t listened to the first half of this show, so I don’t know if you guys mentioned this guy or not, but to me, I Well, first I wanted to go with Danny Stefman, but I but I’m not going to go with Danny Steman. You know, that’s my guy. You know, that’s my guy. And I And I think I think he will do a lot of a little bit something a little bit of something out there. Um, but I I it’s Alante Taylor like jack of all trades, Mr. Defense, um, outside corner, slot corner, rushing the quarterback, interceptions, cause fumbles, fumble recoveries, hopefully some touchdowns this year. Oh, and by the way, he can double up and play on special teams for you. A guy that’s got to be healthy first and foremost, clearly. Um but but you know, one of the more productive I I would say the most productive corner that we have coming back for this season for sure. Um and a guy who doesn’t lack in the confidence department. He he’s always out there swagged out, high energy. Um you know, a guy that, you know, I think has a little bit of of some of the stuff that I like to bring to the game. He enjoys being out there. It’s fun for him every single Sunday. Um, and he’s ultra competitive. I mean, like when you talk about somebody that does a whole lot out there, I don’t know that there’s anybody else on this roster that does as much as he does. I mean, I was thinking I was like, it can’t really be offense if it’s offense. Maybe it’s AK. Um, but I felt like defensively somebody who does everything. I mean, like what what doesn’t he do on defense? Right. And I’m and I’m really honestly I’m expecting him to have his best season this season. Um can’t wait to watch him play. Love that. Yeah. Yeah. And we did mention him a little bit, but I thought you brought up something different about him that we didn’t talk about earlier, and that’s the energy aspect of it. I think that Alante is really the spark player on this defense where if he makes a play or if anybody makes a play, you’re going to hear Elante Taylor. And I think that’s important. You need guys like that on your team where Yeah. when you make a play, everybody’s going to talk, right? We were watching or I was watching this uh I was watching the highlights of the Oregon game and you saw where the guy scores the touchdown, but then DK Moore has a block in the end zone and the guy who scores the touchdown goes and celebrates the block and the guy who throws the block gets up like he scored a touchdown. You need players like that who are energetic and mostly like if you score a touchdown, imagine this, Lance. Imagine you score a touchdown or let’s let’s imagine somebody else throws a touchdown and then you put somebody in the dirt and they go and celebrate your block instead of the six points they just scored. Imagine that’s going to amp up the team and Elante Taylor is that type of guy. So, I think that you bringing the spark aspect of it or the energy, that’s a part that we didn’t talk about earlier, but it’s a huge part of who Elante Taylor is as a player. Mhm. Absolutely. Yeah, for sure. Well, and and I mean that that positive energy radiates through the entire offense first and foremost and then through the through the defense on a play like you suggested. But then if defenders are celebrating the success of their teammates, that’s the thing that I think makes the group better overall. Um, and and I mean I it’s it’s easy for me to tap back into when I was playing, but one one perfect example was the receiver group that I played with for a long time in that Saints offense with Marcus Coloulston and Derey Henderson and Robert Meechum and Marcus Coloulston and and uh Courtney Roby. Like when one guy scored, we felt like we all scored. And it like that to me that chemistry and camaraderie and real genuine love for one another it goes a long way especially in a sport that so grueling and so taxing like when your guys are celebrating you like they scored and vice versa. Like that is cool. And especially when it’s plays that aren’t specific to the exact success of whatever that play may be, like you suggested, a a major block or you picked up a guy when I dropped a guy and he didn’t get the, you know, the ball thrown to him. I mean, those are things that sometimes get overlooked, but are just as important in the grand scheme. You know what this makes me think of? this face makes you think of Jaylen Ford’s interception in the Jaguars game and they got called for the penalty because everybody ran off the bench to go and celebrate everything like that. And I know they got penalized for it. I know that it was like a lack of discipline thing, whatever. I get it. But everyone wanted to go and celebrate him making his play. And that to me stood out more than the penalty or or whatever that ended up being. That to me was was like one of these moments that you’re talking about or or or it’s relative to one of these moments that you’re talking about. Definitely. For sure. Makes me think of uh when Testead in Buffalo 2017 where he just tossed that dude like a ragd doll. Let Drew score like it was Drew running it in, but it was more about Terron Armstead just boom knocked that dude on his butt. All right. I love those. Ross, it’s your turn. give us the shrimp and grits player of the year, the comfort food, however you feel that you uh you want to take it. Yeah, I got two I got two uh lanes to this, but in either case, the selection for me is easy. It’s the Mario Davis. And the reason why is because for me, shrimp and grits, like you said, it’s about comfort and reliability. That is a dish that should always be good. Here’s the other thing, and this is maybe a little known secret for people that don’t, you know, frequent Cajun restaurants and aren’t aren’t around here. First of all, if you want good Cajun food, go to somebody’s house. Don’t go to a restaurant. Second thing, if you do end up going to a restaurant and you want to know if they’re doing the Cajun food right, try the shrimp and grits first because if they can’t get the shrimp and grits right, they ain’t getting nothing right. And so for me, if Deario Davis Yeah. If Demario Davis is having a bad game, ain’t nothing going right. You know what I’m saying? And so for me, he checks both of those boxes. He’s he’s reliable. Um he is a cornerstone just like Shrimp and Grits is for our cuisine down here. Uh he is on every menu. He is on every playbook. Yeah. Every sheet of the playbook. You know what I mean? Over the defensive side just like that. To me that’s all Deario reliable, dependable and the barometer for hey this is going to go well or hey we got to go eat somewhere else because this ain’t this ain’t happen. So to me, that’s all. And you’re only gonna get you’re only gonna get shrimp and grits down here. Like if you get shrimp and grits anywhere else that’s not in Louisiana, don’t eat it. It’s not It’s like getting in New York. Don’t do it. Great point. Great point. You’re not You’re not finding Demario Davis anywhere else. They’re saying, “No, Dear Mario Davis, you can’t have Dear Mario Davis. Dear Mario Davis, you can get that down there. You got to go down there for that 100%.” I love it. I love it. I think that I think that fits perfectly. Let’s go with another staple. John the poboy of the team. Who’s gonna carry the load in his position group? Uh Eric McCoy. It’s that’s pretty easy for me, man. You know, it’s got to be Eric McCoy. Stop Ross. Uh and so I again, you know, look how important just like again last year thinking about him going down in week three and just how much it derailed this entire offensive line. And so again, I feel like with Eric McCoy, he’s the one that carries this so much weight. He makes all the checks. He’s gonna make Spencer Rattler’s job a little bit easier. I feel like he’s gonna read these defenses. His football IQ is off the charts. He’s just so invaluable, right? There is only, we always talk about there’s only one AK. There’s only one Eric McCoy. And centers we think about, oh yeah, it’s just so interchangeable. No, when you got a really, really, really all prolevel pro bowl style center, you can’t just simply replace that guy. And so for me, E McCoy is that poboy. I know he likes him a po boy or two, you know, if you will. And so he’s a guy that I think is is got to be for me. I like that. I like that. Darion, give us the beignet. Bring something sweet to the field. And I teased it earlier. Kre Miller. I think that Kendrick Miller brings a lot of sweet to the field. And honestly, him staying on the field for 17 games would honestly be sweet enough. But when you’re looking at Kendrick Miller, it’s twofold. I think you could look at his impact on simply his play on the field, but then also his impact on others, specifically Alvin Chimera. So, when it comes to Kre, I feel like he’s been an eye test player for his first couple of years in the league where he looks really good when he’s on the field. I don’t think the numbers jump off, but a lot of that is him forcing miss tackles. He’s an eye test and advanced stat guy. But I think that this year is the year where he puts it all together and he becomes an eye test advanced stats and box score guy where you start seeing better yards per carry. You start seeing him in the receiving game. And speaking of the receiving game, he opens up Alvin to do more of that. I’ve been wanting to see Alvin line up outside of the back field and catch passes for a few years now. It just feels like not only have we not gotten it, I understand that maybe you don’t have the running back where you feel like we’ll keep him here and we’ll put Alvin over there, but Kre to me is talented enough to where you trust Kre being in the back field. You feel like he is a running threat. You can’t as a defense be like, “They’re not going to run it because Alvin’s not back there.” Kre is a talented back. Let Alvin stay fresher, be more effective as a runner, and then also more utilized as a passer. So, my beignet is Kre Miller. I think he’s going to be really, really effective for the Saints in 2025. I like that. I like that. I’m going to go with the crawfish boil. What I think is the most important group on the field, the best what’s going to be the best group on the field. And this is a true prediction because I don’t think it’s going to be the one that everyone expects, but I’m going to predict we look back at the end of the year, the best group on the field and the one that let the Saints win the most games is the defensive line. Because I think that eventually I think the obvious choice would be the offensive line because you know with the how the team you don’t run without well run literally and physically uh without a good offensive line this year. But I’m going with the defensive line because I think that they are going to end up needing to break just as many games as the offensive line is going to need to save this year. And I think that I I’ve evs and days have gone by, I felt better and better about the group of players they have across the defensive line. Entering the year, I thought that was going to be the worst position group on the team. And right now, I really have a good feeling about what’s going to be. And I think it starts the inside out. I really uh I like all the moves they’ve done on the inside. Like Devon Godshaw, I talked about Brian Brcie earlier. And we haven’t seen a ton of what Trace Young and Carl Granison are going to look like in action in this defense. But I think what we saw out of training camp was really promising and I I I like what I like what we’ve seen and I feel really good about this group. That’s awesome. Starts up front. Always starts up front. Starts in the trenches. If you can’t win in the trenches, then they’re not going to do anything. They have to win in the trenches in both sides. And James Connor first game, then you Christian McCaffrey the second game, Kenneth Walker, and then you know James Cook. I mean, this is going to be a good litmus test for this defensive line. And there’s some mobile quarterbacks in there as well. So, uh, I think this is a they have to if if they want to accomplish anything and do better than three or four or five wins this year. Their defensive line has got to take over and be more reminiscent of those years when 2017, 2018, 2019 when Drew was here and they were able to stop the run, control the tempo, get after the quarterback, and just be more complete. They had just have been too inconsistent the past several years. Well, I I I agree with you. I I think that it’s important that they’re able to stop the run, right? one of the worst in the National Football League last year. Can’t have that again this year if you want to be successful on defense. But it’s twofold. It you can’t just stop the run because if you stop the run, then they’re going to throw the ball. And if you cannot rush the passer, which the jury is still out with with our pass rushing group, that’s that’s the piece, Dylan, that that is a little bit more concerning to me that we obviously didn’t get to see in preseason games. I mean, you know, there was action going on during training camp, but again, that’s practice. So, the jury is still out to be on on what that pass rush looks like and against especially against the mobile quarterbacks that we’re going to be facing starting this week. If you can’t get a pass rush and that dude has all day to to find a receiver or find a lane and take off, we’re going to be in trouble. So, I’m I’m hoping that they’re able to to dominate up front in the run game and find a way to to get after the passer and keep him at least keep him in the in the pocket there so that he can’t get out and and really really punish us with those usually third and long situations where he’s able to scramble and get a first down and you’re like, “Oh my goodness, it happened again.” So, yeah, I like it. All right. Well, that’s it for our superlatives. That was a fun That was a lot of fun. A little bit different. Oh, was the theme food? The theme was food. New Orleans. Got it. New Orleans food. Um, good job, Ross. The quarterback’s fault. Five points. Five points to you. Um, all right. Coming up next, y’all have asked for it for weeks and months and before we even started this podcast. We’re going to get to it. We’re giving our final record predictions for the 2025 season. Hold on to your butts. 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It could be bad. It could be really bad. What is it going to be, Ross? Let’s start with you. What is your record prediction for this year? Yeah, Ross Jackson, Ever the Optimist. Um, going five wins. Going five wins. Um, I think they’re 5 and 12 by the end of the season. And honestly, I think that’s good. I think that’s fine. I think that that’s where they should be. This is a multi-year rebuilding process. I think the majority of the games that they win come down to the defense. I’m saying that really quickly just because I want to highlight one position group that we didn’t pick anybody from and that we didn’t highlight today that might be the strongest position group on the roster, and that’s safety. And I think that guys like Julian Blackman, Justin Reed, that defensive line that Dylan highlighted, right, guys that are reliable, our shrimp and grits for Demario Davis, like these guys are going to be the reason why this team wins a lot of games. I don’t expect the offense to go out there and be able to put up a bunch of points and all this other stuff, everything. I expect them to be on an upward trajectory throughout the year because Kell Moore, but I don’t know that they’re necessarily going to go out there and, you know, score 40 points like they did to open up the season last year. So, I’m I’m leaning You’re right. I’m leaning towards the defense here being kind of the big um difference maker for New Orleans in those wins, but I’m going to give them five just for this season so that they get to a point to where they’re, you know, that’s a good thing. They’re they’re building towards I don’t think success is completely about the win loss record this year. And so, but I still don’t see them losing as many games they lost last year with three different quarterbacks and Dennis Allen as their head coach. Like I just don’t see them w losing as many of those games or or excuse me uh winning less of those of the games than that. So So we’ll see. I like that. Darien, what’s your record prediction? Well, I’m right there with Ross. You know, to quote book a T, I think the Saints gonna win five times. Five times. Five times. Five times. Five times. So nice. Nice pull. That’s why here. That’s why D. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you. But no, I think that honestly I think they’ll split in the division. I think that’s reasonable. I think that the division isn’t great and I think you could get a win off all of those guys, but I don’t think that they sweep anybody. And then I think that they’ll get a win here and a win there. It’s it’s not they don’t face a bunch of winnable games in my opinion. You know, I I look towards the Jets. I mean, the Giants, but then you start seeing things and it’s like if it comes down to Russell Wilson or Spencer Rattler making a play at the end, we gonna have questions about Russ. I think I don’t know confidence than me. Y’all got more confidence than me. I don’t think I don’t think I’ll take Russ in a lot of those head-to-heads, but I think I’ll take them here. I just it’s it’s difficult and I think too many things need to go right for the Saints to win a lot of games. So, I think maybe they’ll be competitive in some of them, but I I just don’t think that they have the I don’t think they’ll have the offensive success to win a lot of them, unless you’re talking about less than 14 points in some games. I think that might be what it takes some weeks. Yeah, I’ll go Jackson Dart personally. Um, what is that, week five? He might be in there by by then. Yeah, for real. Um, John, what’s your record prediction? I have said on this pod and I still believe it. There are at least eight winnable games on this season. And I mean winnable in the sense the Saints could actually beat them. Not oh any given Sunday, blah blah blah. All that crap. Yeah. I put my prediction. It’s true. Whatever. My record prediction is se seven and 10. I feel a lot more optimistic on this and and and I I can sit here and say all these other things. I just believe that there are opponents that they can stack up if they can figure out coaching and get some of this stuff together. You look at the end of the year, they play the the Jets, the Titans, the Panthers, and the Falcons. It’s possible they could win all four of those games and sweep it to end the year. I I’m just just saying in that aspect, but I do feel like they are going to steal a game here or there. I think that they aren’t going to come in and pay immediate dividends, but I do believe this is going to be a competitive team that’s going to figure out a lot of things. I think the dynamics of this roster, the dynamics of this coaching staff, it’s just going to at some point come together and produce something pretty good here. I I I just at at the end of the day, I don’t care what their win loss ratio is. I’ve said this since we started this pod, since all this, since Kellmore came on board. Just be consistent, be competitive, and I don’t care if they finished two and 15 because I believe that’s the true measure and mark of a rightb building culture team similar to what Dan Campbell was able to do in Detroit. That’s really what I want to see the most. But I do think at this point, I’m going to sit here and say seven and 10. I think they could get to eight, nine, but I’m going to go with seven and 10. I think they’re going to get there. I I just I just feel it. And we’ll we’ll circle back in a at the end of the year and and see how wrong or right we were. No shame. No shame. No shame. Zero. Is it crazy that if the Saints do go seven and 10, then the quarterback of 2026 is on the roster right now? Very positive. Yeah, I would say that. Yeah. It it would accelerate if I say no shame. Yeah. When I say no shame, what I mean by that, sorry, is like we’re not going to shame each other over these predictions. Like we’re not going to come back and do that. is for maybe Dylan. Yeah, maybe Dylan. 17 and0. I knew it. Johnson. Johnson. I’m going to go with six and 11. Uh it’s kind of lay kind of right in the right in the middle. Um I feel like I feel like they’re going to win the win games. They’re going to beat the Jets. That’s a lock right here. They’re going to beat the Jets. I think they’re going to beat the Titans. I think they’re going to beat the Cardinals. Uh, but I think that all is going to be six and 11 and then for a couple months we’re going to argue whether or not they should go with Spencer Rer Tyler Shucker drafted quarterback and it’s going to be this all over again and be frustrating. That’s my full season prediction. Cool. Short, sweet, to the point. Love it. There you go. Love it. Oh man, Lance. Yeah. Um, I’m with you, Dylan. I mean, I I I think it’s I think it’s six and 11. Um, but I feel like this season is going to be somewhat reminiscent to like back in the day, like 2008. We were eight and eight that season, but there was I want to say either five or six of those losses was by like four points or less. So competitive in the games, right? Which means we’re we’re we’re in the games, right? I don’t I don’t think those 11 losses are going to be blowout losses. Do I think there could be a couple sprinkled in there? Absolutely. Um, do I think that that six and 11 could potentially be three and 14? Absolutely. Because I feel like those single score games that we’re losing, some of those wins could end up going the other way. So, like I’m saying six and 11, but I’m not saying that with ultimate confidence. And in that same vein, I think we could be eight and nine just depending how the cookie crumbles in those close matchups. But I do think like everybody else has kind of stated, if it comes down to our quarterback making a play or some other veteran quarterback or some other quarterback that might have a better cast of characters around him making a play, Russell Wilson, I’m probably gonna go with the other guy. And I and that’s not me saying that Spencer Rattler stinks. I just don’t think he’s played enough ball to be really ready to make those plays and those big- time moments just yet. So, six and 11, I I I actually hope that it’s worse so that we get a better draft pick, a better draft spot. Um, honest if I’m being honest. Um, but I I do think that I don’t think we’re the worst team in the NFL. Let me say that. I don’t think so. Like with with no hesitation at all. A lot of people, pundits, and media members and the likes have have been saying or predicted that the Saints will be the worst team in the National Football League. I don’t think that’s that’s accurate. Um, but that’s why we play the games. You know, I I I’m gonna stick with six and 11, but I could easily see it being three or four or five, seven, maybe even up to eight. Um, but we’ll see. I can’t be the only one who wants to hear Lance say who’s the worst team in the NFL, right? Like Tennessee Titans. Titans got Tennessee. I I really just wanted to see I just wanted to see what I felt like he was going to say it and he paused. He was like, I’m not going to do it today. It’s Tennessee Titans. Tennessee tight end and and we get a chance why people are as high on the Giants as some people are. Brian Dball is on the hot seat, man. That’s like he could be the first guy that gets fired this year if he doesn’t that’s a that’s an accident. And Russell Wilson might be the first quarterback benched. You know what? Russell Wilson come find you. Like he he’s tell him to bring Sierra. I don’t care. You can come find me in that case. That’s fine for me. I’m okay. I ain’t worried about Sierra’s husband. You said I ain’t worried about it. Man, is feeling dangerous tonight. Ninja Ros. There we go. There we go. Andrew Ross is the kind of joke you can only get here on the Saints Squad Show. Thank you for checking us out this week. You can check out me, Ross, Lance, John, and Darien on our socials for the latest and you’ll be right back here on Thursday. Uh, appre appreciate y’all sticking with us. It’s a late episode later in the week than we norally do. It was a little travel issue, but we’ll be right back on schedule on Thursday. And then, guys, Sunday, we’re going to be coming at you right after the Saints play their first game. Right after the Saints beat the Arizona Cardinals, we’re gonna go live and talk some football. Uh, but until then, be sure to check out Locked on NFL. Last week, you got the AFC South Divisional preview, and it’s not too late to binge every locked on division preview. Be the most informed NFL fan in an eight episode series bringing you every division winner, breakout star, and Super Bowl contender. Find link in the description to the Locked On NFL playlist on YouTube, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day.

We hand out our season superlative predictions for the 2025 New Orleans Saints season. Who will break out, who will bounce back, who will be the MVP?

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