Any time a team hires an exciting, young defensive coordinator, who has a background coaching defensive backs, rest assured knowing they will be interested in adding one of college football’s best defensive backs. This is the place that the Packers are currently standing in with new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. Even with the talent on the backend in Green Bay with the likes of All-Pro corner Jaire Alexander and ascending safety Xavier McKinney, keep an eye out for GM Brian Gutekunst selecting a defensive back in this month’s draft.

A talented defensive back like Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry could be a real option for Green Bay at pick No. 25 in the first round. Here is why:

A Truly Complete Player

Look for McKinstry to be a true impact player at the next level. He is one of the smartest and most complete prospects in the draft. His communication skills and ability to be physical at the line of scrimmage are top-notch. His ball skills and tackling ability are very evident too. The fact that he stands at 6-1 and weighs close to 200 pounds is very intriguing, especially in a league that has the likes of big wide receivers such as Mike Evans, D.K. Metcalf, A.J. Brown, Mike Williams, etc. His 23 pass deflections over his three seasons at Alabama prove that the All-SEC performer can be a shutdown defensive back in the NFL. There is no denying that.

His Role In Green Bay

The Packers have an interesting dilemma with their defensive backs. They have plenty of cornerback depth behind Jaire Alexander with fourth-year cornerback Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine, who got valuable starting experience a season ago. They also just re-signed slot corner Keisean Nixon to a three-year deal. But with McKinstry’s talent on the boundary, he could be brought into a great situation under Hafley. In year one, he could learn the defensive system, fight for starting snaps, earn his stripes, and he could then start in year two.

Keep in mind too that Hafley has coached the likes Ronde Barber, Richard Sherman, Darrelle Revis, and Joe Haden throughout his career as a DBs coach. Bringing someone like McKinstry to Green Bay would only yield positive results.