Among all of the New Orleans Saints players with the best chance to see a breakout season in 2026, cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry is the one that’s likely to see the biggest return if he can secure such a leap.
Already the team’s top cornerback who led the club in interceptions last year, McKinstry’s breakout would mean a rather strong season for the perimeter corner.
As the defense settled into its new system under coordinator Brandon Staley throughout 2025, it began to surge. McKinstry was among the biggest benefactors in that momentum being built.
He secured his first career interception last year and finished the year with three, also proving to be one of the NFL’s most impactful forces at the catch point among his position group finishing top-six in both forced incompletion percentage and passes broken up.
With a season as quietly strong and underappreciated as the former Alabama cornerback’s was in 2025, a breakout 2026 is likely to garner national attention.
No Saints defender has reeled in five or more interceptions since former first-rounder Marshon Lattimore during his 2017 Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign.
Should McKinstry, the team’s highest drafted corner since Lattimore, match that feat while also facing wide receivers like Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings and Ja’Marr Chase with the Cincinnati Bengals as well as freshly paid options like Atlanta Falcons wideout Drake London and Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson, McKinstry’s name is likely to transcend the Saints fanbase just as he becomes eligible for an extension next offseason.
