Rookie cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry is prepared if the New Orleans Saints defense demands more from him against Dallas

The New Orleans Saints were convinced from the start that adding Kool-Aid McKinstry to an already good mix of defensive backs would produce something even more palatable.

But perhaps they had not expected to have to involve him so often at such an early stage.

McKinstry, this year’s second-round draft pick, could make his first NFL appearance at cornerback on Sunday when the Saints (1-0) play Dallas (1-0) in Arlington at AT&T Stadium, which can be a loud atmosphere.

“I’m just going to play football,” McKinstry said. “It doesn’t matter, people are going to be there every game. I’m just going to go out there, take it play by play and do what I can to help the team win.”

In the season opener, that meant he had to take over the right corner position when Marshon Lattimore left the game midway through the third quarter with a hamstring injury. And on Sunday, that could mean he’ll have to start at that spot, as Lattimore’s hamstring injury kept him from practice Wednesday through Friday. Lattimore’s decision could be made closer to game time.

McKinstry has also played as a slot corner, but with Alontae Taylor settling into that position, he would be playing a position that is much more familiar to him.

“I’m just preparing so that I can do my best on Sunday when I’m called upon,” he said. “Wherever the team needs me. Obviously, I get a lot more playing time as a cornerback because I played a lot more cornerback in college (at Alabama). But wherever I’m needed, I’m there and ready to help the team.”

McKinstry finished his NFL debut game, a 47-10 home win over Carolina, with two tackles and a big fumble. He dropped coverage on a first-and-10 play that led to Carolina’s longest play of the game – a 35-yard pass to the Saints’ 3-yard line that resulted in the Panthers’ touchdown.

“It was just one of those things where it could have gone either way,” he said. “I kind of let the guy go in the zone, that kind of thing.”