The New Orleans Saints selected University of Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night, and former Alabama head coach Nick Saban was thrilled.

“This is another guy that has great football intuition, great instincts,” Saban said, via Charlie Potter of On3Sports. “He understands offense, understands pattern match. Really a fast reactor in the secondary. I just love this guy.”

Many felt that McKinstry was a first-round talent, but a broken bone in his foot that required surgery may have resulted in his fall to the 41st overall pick.

McKinstry is coming off of a 2023 campaign in which he registered 32 tackles and seven passes defended.

The 21-year-old arrived at Alabama in 2021 and had a moderate role in his freshman season, finishing with 26 tackles, a sack and an interception.

Then, the following year, McKinstry recorded 35 tackles, a sack, a pick and 15 passes defended.

The Saints actually had a solid passing defense this past season, ranking 10th in the NFL in that category. They have Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo at cornerback, so it’s not like New Orleans is severely hurting at the position.

However, given the talent that McKinstry possesses, it was obviously hard for the Saints to pass on him. This was definitely a great value pick for New Orleans.

The Saints went 9-8 in 2023, just missing the playoffs.

We’ll see if Kool-Aid McKinstry can help them get back to the postseason in 2024.

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