The Philadelphia Eagles are getting started on their offseason work much earlier than they had anticipated. For a large portion of the season, they looked like legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the NFC. But, once December rolled around, the team started heading downhill and was never able to recover.
Philadelphia lost five out of their last six games of the regular season, heading into the postseason with zero momentum. They looked like a team who had given up and knew they weren’t championship caliber during their Super Wild Card Weekend matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Heading on the road to Raymond James Stadium, the Eagles put forth an embarrassing effort, losing 32-9. The team was dealing with some injuries heading into the contest, but they looked overmatched and disinterested from the start.
NFL News & Rumors: Kool-Aid McKinstry, 2024 NFL Draft, Philadelphia Eagles Updates
Heading into the 2024 offseason, there are a few needs to address with the roster. A majority of them are on the defensive side of the ball, where the Eagles saw their production compared to 2023 fall off a cliff.
One area the team could use some help in is their secondary, specifically cornerback. Darius Slay and James Bradberry were not as productive this season and the loss of safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who played a lot of slot cornerback, hurt as well.
That is a big reason why Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports believes the Eagles will target a defensive back with their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. In a recent mock Trapasso put together, he has cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry heading to the City of Brotherly Love with the 22nd pick.
“The Eagles absolutely need to address their secondary early in the draft, and McKinstry has long looked like a future first-round pick on the field,” wrote Trapasso.
NFL News & Rumors: Kool-Aid McKinstry, 2024 NFL Draft, Philadelphia Eagles Updates
McKinstry played mostly on the boundaries with Alabama and was rarely targeted by opposing quarterbacks. He would do what he could attempting to bait them into low-percentage throws, but they knew better than to target him.
Possessing the athleticism and physicality to succeed in the NFL, McKinstry looks like a player who would fit in well with the Eagles. They certainly need some help on the defensive side of the field, as he would not only fill a need but fit value-wise at that spot in the first round.
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