With the 2024 NFL Draft quickly approaching, Jaguars Wire is breaking down top prospects at positions of need for Jacksonville via individual scouting profiles.
Keeping with our positional trend, having analyzed cornerback Terrion Arnold, wide receiver Rome Odunze, cornerback Quinyon Mitchell and wide receiver Malik Nabers, next on our list is cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry.
NFL Combine measurements and positional percentiles via MockDraftable. Scouting reports by Jaguars Wire.
Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
Height/weight: 5-foot-11 1/2-inch (54th percentile), 199 pounds (76th percentile)
Notable NFL Combine results: 32-inch arm length (70th percentile), 75 7/8-inch wingspan (56th percentile). Didn’t participate in drills due to right foot injury
Notable Pro Day results: 4.47-second 40-yard dash, 1.44-second 10-yard split, 34.5-inch vertical jump, 10-foot, one-inch broad jump
College stats (three seasons, 42 games): 92 tackles, two sacks, five tackles for loss, two interceptions, 25 passes defended, 35 punts returned, 418 punt return yards, 11.9 yards per punt return, punt return long of 45 yards
Scouting report: The consensus No. 1 cornerback recruit in the class of 2021, out of Pinson (Ala.) Valley, McKinstry signed with Alabama over Power 5 suitors from coast to coast. He gained immediate fame for his nickname (real name Ga’Quincy) around the launch of the Name, Image and Likeness era of college athletics, leading him to sign a sponsorship deal with the Kool-Aid company.
McKinstry quickly found the gridiron with the Crimson Tide, appearing in 15 games and logging 479 snaps as a freshman, ending the year as a starting cornerback. He held onto the role for the next two seasons, serving as an outside cornerback over 90% of the time with occasional slot and box reps.
A sticky man coverage cornerback who can consistently get receivers off their route stem from press alignment and mirrors footwork well, McKinstry lived up to his high school ranking and the lockdown cornerback label with Alabama. According to Pro Football Focus, he gave up 50+ receiving yards in a game only four times in college and allowed a completion percentage in coverage of 47.1% over his last two seasons.
McKinstry doesn’t possess elite long speed and has room to improve at creating interceptions. But he removed his assigned receiver or zone responsibility from posing a threat to the Alabama defense more often than not, and that skill set will transfer to the pros.
McKinstry exited Alabama having earned All-SEC recognition in each of his three seasons (making the Freshman team as a rookie) and various All-American honors in 2022-23.
In addition to his abilities at cornerback, McKinstry proved to be an explosive punt returner during his time with Alabama, averaging double-digit yards per return over 35 tries.
Although he only attempted one kick return in college, Jacksonville could benefit from selecting McKinstry and pairing him with Devin Duvernay, who the Jaguars signed in free agency, under the new kickoff rules instituted by the NFL in late March.
“From a roster perspective, obviously you’re going to have two returners back there,” Baalke said on April 18. “Having two really good returners helps you a lot because they can’t kick it away from the one that’s back there. So that’s going to be something that you have to deal with.”
