By Ross Jackson
After a shocking injury to one of their starting cornerbacks, the New Orleans Saints are now tasked with replacing him on the field. Thanks to their 2024 NFL Draft class, they won’t have to look long to find the next man up.
Paulson Adebo suffered scary injury during Thursday night’s loss to the Denver Broncos. Per head coach Dennis Allen, the fourth-year cornerback had a broken femur and required surgery into the early hours of the following morning. The injury, which also led to him being carted off with a vacuum splint over his right leg, will end his season.
That means New Orleans must find a way to survive without yet another impactful starter. The player that will be thrust into the starting role, though young, packs a ton of promise.
Former Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry was widely considered the top cornerback of the 2024 draft. However, a foot injury changed his trajectory, forcing a fall to the second round. The Saints pounced, moving up a few selections via a trade to make sure they were the team that landed him.
McKinstry is a press-man cornerback through and through. That makes him a perfect fit for Allen’s defense.
As a top cover corner for one of college’s best defensive schemes under former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, (back before Bama was burning) McKinstry will be trusted as the starter opposite Marshon Lattimore. Both corners have a reputation for forcing passers to look the other way because of their athleticism and coverage ability.
Lattimore was sidelined by a hamstring injury in the second half of Thursday night’s game. Allen said that the issue is not expected to be serious.
The Alabama corner was not noted for his turnover production coming out of college. He had only two interceptions in his three-year collegiate career. However, he wasn’t targeted often. Despite taking 482 coverage snaps in 2023, he was targeted just 39 times. He those targets resulted in just 19 receptions.
He’ll be lined up across from Lattimore who, per Pro Football Focus, has only been the closest man in coverage on targets 12 times this year. If that trend continues, a lot more targets should end up going McKinstry’s way giving him a lot of opportunities to show what ball hawking abilities he may have not been able to display with the Crimson Tide in his final year.
The rookie corner has already seen his first NFL start. He was called into action Week 2 in place of Lattimore who was managing a previous hamstring injury. During that game, he was targeted seven times, allowing six catches but for only 30 total yards including a long reception of just 10. Not bad for a first-time outing.
Next week, he will square off with Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and a host of wide receivers that have been mostly underwhelming and managing injury for the year. The Chargers passing game currently ranks No. 29 in yards across the league, and the team has attempted the fewest passes in the NFL.
This should be an advantageous second start for McKinstry as he becomes the next rookie player for New Orleans to get the chance to prove his value to the club. That will be important for him as Adebo’s injury could also unfortunately mark his final snap as a Saint. That means McKinstry could be vying for a top role beyond the 2024 season.
