The Saints should bench CB Paulson Adebo and start rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry

The New Orleans Saints need to make big changes to end their four-game losing streak, but where should they start? Head coach Dennis Allen isn't going anywhere, so the changes must start on the field. And with starting cornerback Paulson Adebo setting a new career high in penalty yards, it's time for rookie second-round draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry to get a chance.

Adebo's 101 penalty yards this season are a career high, despite two of his penalties being declined (he had never before had multiple fouls declined in a single season). As a rookie, he gave up 76 penalty yards in 2021, 73 penalty yards in 2022, and just 27 penalty yards in 2023, but now he's fallen back into bad habits. This regression must have consequences.

And the team can't afford his boom-or-bust style of play. It's a great thing that Adebo leads the defense with 3 interceptions and 10 pass breakups. In addition to the penalties, he also gets hit in coverage. He is allowed 30 receptions and 527 yards on the pro football reference charts. Only one other defender has given up more than 400 yards this year, and that's Benjamin St-Juste with 402. The gap between Adebo and St-Juste is the same as that between St-Juste and DeMarvion Overshown, whose yards allowed 16th. the most.

Let's look at another outlet. Pro Football Focus has Adebo with 33 catches and 426 yards, so they were able to provide some big gains for other players. But Adebo's 426 yards allowed are still the most in the league. Even if you assign blame here or there to another defender in the secondary, he still gets beat way too often and makes too many big hits.

These errors also extend to other phases. PFF accused Adebo of missing four tackles last Sunday against the Buccaneers, giving him six missed tackles this season. PFR has been more lenient and only had one missed tackle this year, but there are often differences of opinion with stats like these. Either way, the image of Chris Godwin shoving a stiff arm into Adebo's facemask so he can pick up another seven yards deep in Tampa Bay territory stands out.

Will McKinstry be a better fit? Maybe, maybe not. It's worth finding out. Adebo had a great chance to redeem himself in a contract year after coming off his best season as a pro, but he blew it and the Saints' season goes down with him. They can't keep doing what they're doing after giving up 594 yards from scrimmage and scoring 51 points on their own, extending their losing streak to four miserable weeks. The Saints drafted McKinstry for a reason. Try to stand your ground and make sure Adebo regains his place in the lineup after making so many negative plays.