Jun 10, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (4) looks on during minicamp at Ochsner Sports Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Three Crimson Tide Products Eyeing Breakout NFL Season: Just A Minute

Originally posted on Alabama Crimson Tide on SI
By Hunter De Siver | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 5:50 PM ET

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers will provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral staff writer Hunter De Siver discusses former Alabama standouts who could breakout this NFL season.

We are just one day away from the NFL kicking off its 2025-26 regular season!

Alabama tallied 10 stars on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025 list on Monday night, only trailing LSU for the most among any school. There were multiple Crimson Tide products who made their first appearance on the prestigious list and a breakout year could be on the way for a few other Alabama greats that missed the cut.

Here are three Alabama breakout candidates for the 2025-26 NFL season.

Bryce Young

In summer 2024, NFL analysts were attending the Carolina Panthers' training camp and they were seeing a version of the quarterback that they hadn't seen during his first year. Things were looking up for the former Alabama standout after a 2-14 rookie campaign, but Young was benched after just two games last season.

He returned as the starter in Week 8, and as the season continued, he showed a ton of improvement. Young closed the season out in style with a 44-38 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons, where he completed 73.5 percent of his passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns while adding two more scores on the ground.

The Panthers made a couple of moves this offseason to help Young in Year 3, including the eighth overall draft selection of wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and the free agent signing of fellow wide receiver Hunter Renfrow.

Kool-Aid McKinstry

The New Orleans Saints are widely expected to be one of the worst teams in the league this upcoming season, but cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry could be on the rise.

McKinstry averaged 36.6 percent of defensive snaps in the first eight games of his rookie campaign last season. But after four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore was traded, McKinstry took his spot in the starting lineup and played 96.2 percent of snaps when combining the latter seven games.

Like Young, McKinstry elevated his game with each passing contest from the second half of the schedule. Now that he's cemented himself as the starter, the 22-year-old can continue to grow as a reliable option on the Saints defense.

Terrion Arnold

And speaking of Alabama cornerbacks heading into a highly anticipated second season in the NFL, Terrion Arnold's situation is a bit different than McKinstry's. Unlike the Saints, the Detroit Lions are widely considered Super Bowl contenders.

Arnold started in all but one game that he played as a rookie. He struggled a bit early with penalties and just finding his feet in one of the sport's toughest positions.

But like Young and McKinstry, Arnold showed improvement as the season went on, as he finished with 10 pass breakups. Now that he's fully acclimated, Arnold aims to thrive in a secondary with hopes of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.