Kool-Aid McKinstry scouting report: Exploring the Alabama CB's strengths and weaknesses

The number one cornerback recruit in the nation in 2021, Kool-Aid McKinstry saw some limited time during his freshman season. But he took over as a fixture in the lineup from year two on and immediately excelled, with one interception and 16 pass breakups, making him a first-team All-SEC selection.

His ball production dropped significantly this past season (no INTs, seven PBUs), but he was still recognized as a first-team all-conference and All-American player.

Kool-Aid McKinstry scouting report

Man-coverage:

• Born to play the cornerback position, with how natural he is at anticipating routes and the comfort in sticking to receivers
• Incredibly patient in soft-press alignment, to force the guy across from him to commit to the release and has his arms ready to establish contact as soon as they do, with pretty loose hips at that height to open without a delay
• Utilizes one-handed stabs to throw off receivers at the line routinely when playing closer up
• And then he expertly places the outside hand onto the shoulder pad of guys as they try to take off down the sideline, to minimize space and feel a potential break coming
• Can impede receivers as they try to release inside and stick with them like glue as they break toward the middle of the field
• You see McKinstry play stack technique and track the ball the whole way when offenses test him with goal-line fades by the tight end in isolated situations
• Highly active with his hands to counter receivers at the break-point and not allow them to swipe him by
• Had an 81.2 PFF coverage grade and a 57.9 passer rating allowed as just a true sophomore in 2022, before earning the fourth-highest overall grade (88.8) among all corners in the 2024 draft last season, when he was tested just half as many times (39 instead of 80 targets)

Zone-coverage:

• Understands how to use leverage to his advantage in quarters and having his eyes on the quarterback through the eligibles to his side
• Does a nice job of playing top-shoulder and not allowing guys to detach down the post, even if the safety to his side has to step down for some crosser in front of him
• Showcases full confidence in being open to the middle of the field in zone, then flipping and running with go routes by the wideout he’s lined up against
• McKinstry’s ability to be in a three-quarter turn, then stick the front foot in the ground and fluidly flip back down against deep curls is highly impressive for his pretty high-hipped build
• Has a great feel for the timing of concepts and when routes are off the table, staying ready to shut down completions in front of quickly on levels-based concepts, such as “flood”
• Displays some highly impressive awareness for being opened inside as a zone-defender with a receiver stemming that way and falling off to make plays on the ball as the offense tries to sneak somebody up the sideline (RB wheel)
• Rapidly races up into the flats and lays the wood on guys after catching the ball

Run defense & tackling:

• Far from just a pure cover corner – this guy will come up and hit people
• In the screen game, he’ll rapidly shoot through the crease between receivers and flip the intended target behind the line of scrimmage at times
• Pro-active condensed the space towards the furthest outside blocker and you see him ignore the outside receiver in favor of lowering a shoulder into a bigger body trying to clear space out to the corner
• Arrives low and lifts through contact to even out size advantages against running backs and tight ends as a tackler
• When he does allow a completion, he regularly slings his guy to the turf for no additional yardage
• Only missed nine of 102 tackles attempted in his career (8.8% miss rate)

Weaknesses:

• Gets unnecessarily grabby during the stem of intermediate routes at this point
• His height can become an issue against receivers attacking his chest and creating separation by pushing off against him
• Both Texas receivers (A.D. Mitchell and Xavier Worthy) gave Kool-Aid trouble with their speed and how well he can hang with guys like that down the field remains a question without an official 40-time
• When offenses are in condensed formations, Kool-Aid tends to get lured inside and surrender contain
• Muffed an insane five punts on just 35 such return attempts (even if he led the SEC in punt return yardage in 2022)

If you’re looking to show someone how to play press-man coverage, Kool-Aid has a lot of teach-tape to turn on. He is so fundamentally sound with staying balanced, reading the hips of receivers, not lunging when he puts his hands on people and being clean in his transitions, especially when you consider his height.

His positioning, spatial awareness and ability to read patterns also show up positively in zone duty, and he’s not shy of coming downhill and trying to get bigger ball-carriers on the ground. There are corners in this class who are twitchier, more physical and have better top-end speed, but I feel like I sort of learned my lesson with Broncos All-Pro Patrick Surtain II, who wasn't inside my top 10 years ago.

Grade: First round