Kool-Aid McKinstry [OVERRATED]

With such a high-profile name, one could only hope Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry had the game to match.

Wrong.

He was good, but not great, and he was anything but a lockdown shutdown corner in these six games.

If you don’t believe me go watch him against LSU and Mississippi State, especially the Mississippi State game where they victimized him. Neither of these teams looked like they respected him as some sort of elite talent.

To be honest, I was expecting more (and hoping for more), especially considering currently 98.9% of the NFL Draft Community already sees McKinstry as a first-round pick.

Despite being early in the process, many draft platforms out there haven’t been bashful when it comes to the man nick-named after the popular drink. He’s currently the consensus No. 4 pick overall. The Draft Network, Draftwire, Walter Football, Pro Football Network, 247Sports, CBS, Fox Sports, NBC Sports Chicago, Fansided, 33rd Team, Barstool Sports, Bleacher Report, and The Athletic have all tagged him with a first-round grade.

That’s not what the game film is saying. I barely had any room left on my full sheet of paper on the negative side of the ledger.

What’s he missing?

Quite a bit.

For starters, McKinstry is not showing that coveted short-area burst that defines first-round playmaking corners in the National Football League.

This is further evidenced by producing one interception in 12 games in 2022.

While McKinstry does break up a good number of passes (which is great), he does it mostly on inside slants when he’s actually looking at the pass and shows physicality and good anticipation.

Outside of that, he is breaking up passes strictly based on being physical.

McKinstry has a very bad habit of playing receivers more than playing the ball.

His technique as a corner is questionable (at best). Several times he looked like he was guessing as the ball was closing in. This alone moves him more into the value of being a developmental type of prospect who’s anything but a polished plug-and-play difference-maker.

He is also missing recovery speed once receivers have a step or two on him deep.

What does he look like on film?

Most of the time he is lined up in press-man coverage.

This Alabama corner does stick to receivers like Velcro on pure straight-line routes that he anticipates. That’s about as good as it gets with him.

But here’s the problem – – McKinstry got burned on comeback routes against Mississippi State, Texas, and Arkansas.

This is what exposed the lack of ability to slam on the brakes and burst back to the ball. He was only able to secure the tackles in these situations. This is going to be a serious problem in the NFL.

Like him – – don’t love him.

I don’t see him moving the meter based on what he put on film last season.

#1 Kool-Aid McKinstry 6-foot-1, 195 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Summer 2023 Grade: Third-Round (I would select him)

Projected by 98.9% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of August 1, 2023 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2022 game film reviewed: LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas, Arkansas, and Auburn (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2022 stats: 35 tackles (29 solo), 1 INT., 15 pass breakups (team-high), and 1 sack

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Physical man cover corner with good pure straight-line speed, but lacks short-area burst and recovery speed. Occasionally in off-man coverage or zone, but not often. Can flip hips, turn, run, and stay in phase vertically, provided he doesn’t fall behind. Aggressive covering inside slants and was able to defend a number of them. Gives a strong effort in coverages no matter what, but really struggled on comeback routes and was only able to make the stop after the fact. Often couldn’t close back to make up the difference in time. Below average coverage technique overall. Spent too much time playing the receivers and not looking for the ball. Gave up too many catches. Breaks up passes by getting in the way and being physical. Drew some pass interference calls as a result of subpar technique. Mixed results in pass and run support. Put on the brakes on an active touchdown run against Auburn and let it happen, which was disappointing.

What to watch for during the 2023 college football season

1. Showing short-area burst?

2. Recovery speed?

3. Interception production?

4. Reluctance in support?

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, contributes at Yardbarker, and has written for Sports Illustrated Lions, Jets, and 49ers, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.