{"id":207173,"date":"2025-07-14T19:47:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T19:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/207173\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T19:47:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T19:47:13","slug":"new-orleans-saints-cornerback-kool-aid-mckinstry-named-breakout-candidate-for-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/207173\/","title":{"rendered":"New Orleans Saints Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry Named Breakout Candidate for 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Orleans Saints Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry Named Breakout Candidate for 2025<\/a> originally appeared on Athlon Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The New Orleans Saints<\/a>‘ 2024 second-round pick may be in for a breakout year.<\/p>\n

The Athletic<\/a> has named cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry as the Saints’ breakout candidate for the 2025 NFL season.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\"Sep<\/p>\n

Sep 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) cannot catch a pass while defended by New Orleans Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (14) at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn ImagesTim Heitman-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

McKinstry, 22, had an up-and-down rookie season, but showed plenty of promise. Now with an increased role in 2025, many are predicting the former second-round pick to have a breakout season in his second year.<\/p>\n

New Orleans’ selection of McKinstry helped the team make the decision to move on from former All-Pro Marshon Lattimore and let Paulson Adebo walk in free agency.<\/p>\n

The Athletic named the opposing quarterback’s passer rating below 78 when targeting the rookie cornerback as a key factor in his development. McKinstry would even have an impressive three-game stretch with quarterbacks throwing 6-for-20 when he was targeted.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\"Dec<\/p>\n

Dec 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (14) reacts after breaking up a pass intended for New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

However, the Saints’ cornerback room is one of the biggest question marks on the roster. The team has made plenty of efforts to add to their young core, with the team making a hard push for Chavarius Ward in free agency and drafting Quincy Riley. The team has also been named suitors for standout corner Asante Samuel Jr, who the team brought in for a visit early in June.<\/p>\n

While the Saints are active in the cornerback market, they may have security at the position with a breakout from the second-year corner. McKinstry is disciplined in pass coverage and has incredible game IQ. He was a three-year starter at Alabama and played against top-end talent in the SEC.<\/p>\n

McKinstry will have a lot to prove in 2025. The former 41st overall pick had a lot of valuable resources invested in him and will see a pivotal role in the Saints’ defense moving forward. With the Saints betting on their second-year cornerback, the media believes he will have a breakout year for the black and gold.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Related: Saints QB Organizes Private Workout With Receivers Ahead of Training Camp<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Saints Receive Worst Offseason Grade in NFL from ESPN<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Orleans Saints Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry Named Breakout Candidate for 2025 originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The New…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076],"tags":[8483,1121,257,7,14135,4126,9737,7185,896,55,56,2572,2571,6,9273,1452,24506,397,4394,43903],"class_list":{"0":"post-207173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-saints","8":"tag-asante-samuel-jr","9":"tag-ceedee-lamb","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-kool-aid-mckinstry","13":"tag-malik-nabers","14":"tag-mandatory-credit","15":"tag-marshon-lattimore","16":"tag-new-orleans","17":"tag-new-orleans-saints","18":"tag-new-york-giants","19":"tag-neworleans","20":"tag-neworleanssaints","21":"tag-nfl","22":"tag-paulson-adebo","23":"tag-quincy-riley","24":"tag-rookie-cornerback","25":"tag-saints","26":"tag-the-athletic","27":"tag-tim-heitman-imagn"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114853317634650229","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}