Tag: Paulson Adebo

A starting role in 2025 is on the line for Kool-Aid McKinstry

Kool-Aid McKinstry taking over at corner next year was the old regime’s thought process. He now has to prove it to whoever the next coach is

When the New Orleans Saints selected Kool-Aid McKinstry in this year’s NFL draft, the vision was for him to likely step in as a starter on the outside. The problem is, it was Dennis Allen’s plan. Dennis Allen isn’t here anymore, so it’s on McKinstry to prove to the next coach that the plans shouldn’t change.

The opportunity is still there. Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo were the starting boundary cornerbacks entering the season. Lattimore is a Washington Commander and Adebo is on injured reserve.

McKinstry is joined by Alontae Taylor on the outside, but Taylor has the slot corner role as his safety net. McKinstry spent most of the season limited by opportunity or injury. The Lattimore trade cleared the way for the rookie to showcase his talents.

Prior to the bye week, McKinstry played 99 percent of the snaps against the Browns. This will be his regular workload as long as he stays healthy. These next six games will be to tell the regime he should be a leader when determining who will play outside cornerback in 2025.

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Saints starting cornerback was a street free agent just two weeks ago

From street free agent to starting on Sunday: Recapping the last month for New Orleans Saints cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles

It’s been a busy couple of months for Shemar Jean-Charles. The New Orleans Saints cornerback has bounced on and off of the team’s practice squad after a standout performance during the preseason; if not for rookie sensation Rico Payton, he likely would’ve made the roster outright. Instead, he’s gone from being a street free agent to a game-day starter in a matter of weeks.

Let’s recap his experience. Jean-Charles was waived during final roster cuts on Aug. 27 and re-signed with the Saints practiice squad a few weeks later on Sept. 11, only to be let go again on Oct. 15. His return was announced the next week on Oct. 22, after Paulson Adebo’s season-ending injury. He was promoted to the 53-man roster on Nov. 2, just in time to start in Adebo’s place against the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 3.

Not bad for a former late-round draft pick. Payton is dealing with a back  issue and hamstring injuries have sidelined both Marshon Lattimore and  Kool-Aid McKinstry, so Jean-Charles is one of a couple of new faces in the Saints secondary on Sunday. Here’s hoping he makes some plays and hangs tough against a Panthers offense desperate to end their losing streak.

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Panthers receiving corps as riddled with injuries as Saints secondary

Alontae Taylor is the only one of the Saints’ top cornerbacks healthy this week, and Carolina is depending on a WR who was hurt in practice:

The passing game will be an interesting battle to watch when the Carolina Panthers have the ball against the New Orleans Saints. This game will feature a banged up Saints secondary versus a depleted Panthers wide receiver corps.

Paulson Adebo’s season is over with a broken femur suffered in Week 7. Marshon Lattimore and Kool-Aid McKinstry are both out with hamstring injuries this week. That leaves Alontae Taylor as the only piece of the core cornerbacks who will play Sunday.

Xavier Legette is the only wide receiver of note available to Bryce Young. Adam Thielen is doubtful and Diontae Johnson was shipped off to the Ravens. Even Legette, who is expected to play, was added to the injury report midweek with a toe injury.

Carolina has struggled to throw the ball this year with Young or Andy Dalton. This would be normally be an easy matchup for the Saints secondary. With all the injuries, it’s difficult to project how they’ll perform.

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Saints rookie DB is about to be thrown into the fire

Kool-Aid McKinstry started in Week 2, but playing opposite of Marshon Lattimore is a much different experience. This is why the Saints drafted him:

Kool-Aid McKinstry’s rookie season completely changed when Paulson Adebo went down with injury. McKinstry goes from being a minor player in the system to basically being a starter. But the New Orleans Saints drafted him so highly because an emergency like this might happen.

He’ll be the outside corner opposite Marshon Lattimore in the Saints’ nickel defense, which they run more often than almost any other personnel grouping. You’ll frequently see Lattimore, McKinstry and slot corner Alontae Taylor on the field together.

This is similar to the role McKinstry played against the Dallas Cowboys, but the difference comes from who is on the other side of the field. In Week 2, the rookie filled in for Lattimore. This week, he’s playing opposite of Lattimore.

Even though Adebo is a good cornerback, he was one of the NFL’s most-targeted players in coverage because teams didn’t want to try Lattimore. That tendency didn’t change with a rookie entering the lineup. Lattimore is rarely challenged. That’s another tendency that is unlikely to change.

McKinstry saw just two targets on 12 passing snaps in Week 2. He probably won’t see another game with just two targets. He also will see more than 12 snaps on passing plays as well.

In limited action, McKinstry has looked good. He’s about to really jump in the fire playing opposite of the Saints top corner. Expect to see McKinstry much more than you did against the Cowboys.

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This stat says Saints DB is the NFL’s most disruptive player through 7 weeks

Alontae Taylor has made a living in the backfield this season. Through seven weeks, he leads the league in creating “havoc plays”

The 33rd Team has a metric called havoc plays. A havoc play is any tackle for a loss, sack, interception, forced fumble or pass breakup. Instead of individualizing each stat, they compiled them into one stat.

Through seven games, Alontae Taylor has become a master of disruption. The New Orleans Saints defensive back leads the NFL in havoc plays, with 16.

Due to Paulson Adebo’s injury, Taylor’s role will change slightly. He’ll play opposite Marshon Lattimore in base defense. In nickel, Taylor will slide inside and Kool-Aid McKinstry will play outside.

The change in role only increases Taylor’s ceiling for havoc plays because he won’t have to come off the field. He still gets to retain his spot in the slot which is what sets him up for so many havoc plays.

Playing insides gives him more opportunities to blitz and be more aggressive in the run game. Taylor is second on the team 3.5 sacks this year. One of those sacks led to a strip sack of Jalen Hurts.

In addition to being a leader in sacks, Taylor also leads the team in tackles for a loss and is second in pass breakups. That last number in particular should increase by playing on the outside in base formations.

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Dennis Allen reveals plan at cornerback after Paulson Adebo injury

Alontae Taylor and Kool-Aid McKinstry will see bigger roles in the Saints’ secondary after Paulson Adebo’s injury. Dennis Allen shared the plan moving forward:

Paulson Adebo’s season ended last week after a broken femur. It’s a genuine tough break for a player who’s currently in a contract year. This extends the long list of injuries the New Orleans Saints have to deal with.

Luckily for them, cornerback is probably the one position the Saints are set up to deal with an injury. Dennis Allen announced Monday that Alontae Taylor will replace Adebo at outside corner in base defense opposite Marshon Lattimore. Kool-Aid McKinstry will fill in on the outside in nickel coverage.

This was the expected next step after Adebo’s injury. It’s the plan they’ve used for mid game injuries and also absences. Taylor has been excellent on the inside this year, so it was unlikely he’d abandon that position entirely. Now, he just won’t leave the field.

The rookie’s role grows as well. The Saints play a lot of nickel, so he will see the field frequently. That may not be the case this upcoming week, because the Chargers are such a run heavy team. In many games, however, McKinstry will see the field as much as most starters.

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Alvin Kamara won’t use injuries as an excuse for Saints’ losing streak

It may be easy to point to the Saints’ injuries as the reason for their five-game losing streak, but Alvin Kamara sees deeper issues at work:

The New Orleans Saints have to be one of the most injured teams in the NFL, but Alvin Kamara doesn’t believe getting healthy instantly turns this team around.

Chris Olave missed this game with a concussion and Rashid Shaheed is out for the season. The entire interior offensive line is out. The departure of Erik McCoy coincided with the speedy downfall of the offense. On top of everything, Derek Carr is also out for a few weeks due to injury, leaving rookie Spencer Rattler to lead the charge.

The defense is starting to get hit to with Paulson Adebo’s season-ending injury and Pete Werner’s prolonged absence.

It would be easy to blame injuries for the losing streak, but Kamara won’t do it. He sees multiple factors outside of health that contribute to the downward spiral.

“I think getting healthy makes us feel better,” Kamara began. “I don’t think it’s going to be the ultimate fix, because there’s things that we have to do better. We shoot ourselves in the foot. I don’t think we’re playing with a lot of detail.”

Health isn’t in your control but the things Kamara laid out are. Most importantly, they’re issues that could continue even with a fully healthy team.

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Paulson Adebo injury update: What happened to Saints CB on ‘TNF’?

Saints CB Paulson Adebo suffered a broken femur on ‘Thursday Night Football’ against the Broncos and underwent surgery on Friday morning.

New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo went down with a leg injury in the second quarter of a Thursday Night Football game against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 17.

Abedo, 25, was on the ground for several minutes and the Saints’ medical staff placed a vacuum splint on his leg and then carted him off the field. He was taken to a local medical center after getting X-rays at the stadium.

After the game, a 33-10 Broncos win, Saints coach Dennis Allen announced that Abedo suffered a broken femur, which will end his season.

The cornerback underwent surgery early Friday morning, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Abedo’s recovery timeline is expected to be about 4-5 months. That would put him on track to be healthy in March when he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent.

A former third-round pick out of Stanford, Abedo has totaled 43 pass breakups and 10 interceptions in 52 games in the NFL.

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Dennis Allen says Saints starting CB suffered broken femur vs. Broncos

Dennis Allen shared an update on New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo following his leg injury. A broken femur has likely ended his season:

Head coach Dennis Allen shared an update on New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo following his leg injury in the team’s 33-10 loss to the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, saying that Adebo had suffered a broken femur.

Adebo was carted off the field following a play in which he went in to help tackle Broncos running back Javonte Williams, but collided awkwardly and was unable to get back to his feet. He exited the game in a vacuum splint, before he was taken to a local hospital for further treatment. Allen added that he was set to have surgery immediately on Thursday night.

The prognosis looks very much like Adebo will be out for the rest of the season, which bodes poorly for both him and a struggling Saints team as he was making a lot of plays  in the secondary. The Saints defensive back has been a strong piece of what they have been able to get right on the defensive side of the ball, leading the team in passes defensed (10) and interceptions (3), but he’s also led in the categories of penalty yards and defensive pass interference fouls. He was a bit of a boom-or-bust player in coverage, but they needed every takeaway and pass broken up he gave them.

Adebo will be bound for free agency this offseason, so what happens with him moving forward will be something to watch. For now we’ll wish him  a full and speedy recovery.

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Saints rule out two more starters with injuries vs. Broncos

The Saints ruled out two more starters with injuries against the Broncos, including top cornerback Marshon Lattimore:

Disaster struck the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night when the Denver  Broncos came to town, and their old head coach Sean Payton left no doubt who needed who after his offense climbed up to a 26-3 lead. But that’s not all. The injury bug came back with a vengeance.

First, starting cornerback Paulson Adebo left the field on a trainer’s cart with a vacuum splint immobilizing his right leg. He was quickly ruled out with a knee injury and taken by ambulance to a nearby medical center after having  X-rays taken at the Caesars Superdome.

But two more starters went down in the second half. Left guard Nick Saldiveri, who was filling in for Lucas Patrick, was ruled out with a shoulder injury and replaced by rookie backup Kyle Hergel. Saldiveri didn’t join the team on the sideline after halftime.

After that, the other starting corner, Marshon Lattimore, exited with a hamstring injury. He was examined on the sideline in the blue medical tent but returned to the bench without a helmet, and was also ruled out. First-year draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry  had gone in to replace Adebo and he was joined by undrafted rookie Rico Payton in  Lattimore’s place.

This team can’t take many more injuries. Only 20 of the 53 players on the active roster have not been listed on the injury report this season. Whatever injury prevention methods the training staff has been trying are not working.

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