{"id":212823,"date":"2026-03-31T10:24:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/212823\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T10:24:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:24:06","slug":"scouting-miami-nickel-keionte-scott-for-saints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/212823\/","title":{"rendered":"Scouting Miami nickel Keionte Scott for Saints"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 31, 2026, 4:55 a.m. CT<\/p>\n

The New Orleans Saints had a continent of scouts at the University of Miami Hurricanes Pro Day on Monday. Cornerback Keionte Scott was one of several members of the national runner-ups watched closely by NFL scouts. For the Saints, a player like Scott could be a target on the second day of the 2026 NFL Draft to fill a need in their secondary.<\/p>\n

New Orleans finished fourth in pass defense last season. However, versatile cornerback Alontae Taylor was lost in free agency. The Saints still have Quincy Riley and Kool-Aid McKinstry as an impressive tandem at the position. However, Taylor was a solid third corner and added a lot of versatility to the defensive backfield. Someone with Scott’s skill set could be a perfect target to take his place.<\/p>\n

Keionte Scott bioPosition: CornerbackCollege: Miami (Fla) HurricanesHeight: 5-feet, 11 inchesWeight: 193 pounds40-yard: 4.33 (Pro Day)Vertical jump: 44″ (Pro Day)<\/p>\n

From Helix High School in California, Scott’s college journey started with Snow Community College in Utah before taking him to the Auburn Tigers of the SEC in 2022. He had 1 interception and broke up 4 passes that season, adding a sack and 4 stops for loss. He had 5 pass breakups and 44 tackles the next year, but dealt with injuries that slowed him throughout the 2024 campaign. After that season, he’d transfer to the Miami Hurricanes and the ACC.<\/p>\n

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n

Scott was a playmaker for a Miami squad that advanced the the national title game. He had 2 interceptions, returning both for touchdowns. One of those scores was during the Hurricanes 24-14 upset of the Ohio State Buckeyes in the CFP quarterfinals. Scott also broke up 5 throws and had 5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss during the season, leading to 2nd Team All-ACC recognition.<\/p>\n

StrengthsExtremely active and versatileAggressiveness of a LB at the line of scrimmageLightning-fast change of directionDisruptive blitzerPhysical run defenderInstinctive and most effective in off-ball coverageWeaknessesMust develop better route anticipationNeeds to locate throws fasterPrecise route runners give him fits in man coverageCan struggle shadowing receivers throughout a routeKeionte Scott 2026 draft outlook<\/p>\n

With all the big-time playmakers on the Hurricanes defense in 2025, Scott was one of the biggest in the most high-profile games. He’ll give up plays, evidenced by surrendering 14 completions on 18 targets for 140 yards during Miami’s CFP run. He’ll also make momentum-changing plays, proven by his Defensive MVP performance in the Cotton Bowl win over the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n

While Keionte Scott may be a feast-or-famine player on the surface, the reality is that he’s an extremely versatile defender who will help a defense in numerous ways. If the Saints are moving forward with McKinstry and Riley as their outside corners, then Scott would be a perfect draft pick to take care of the slot and create havoc as a blitzer and around the formation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 31, 2026, 4:55 a.m. CT The New Orleans Saints had a continent of scouts at the University…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[31,123,125,124,16987,16988,97310,298,97311,342,332,96,300,34],"class_list":{"0":"post-212823","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-accessfree","9":"tag-miami","10":"tag-miami-headlines","11":"tag-miami-news","12":"tag-sstssportsnflsaints","13":"tag-sstsnsaints","14":"tag-tagalontae-taylor","15":"tag-tagamerican-football","16":"tag-tagkool-aid-mckinstry","17":"tag-tagnational-sports","18":"tag-tagnfl","19":"tag-tagoverall-positive","20":"tag-tagsports-news","21":"tag-typestory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}