With the 52nd pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Green Bay selected cornerback Brandon Cisse out of South Carolina. Here are some quick things to know about the newest Packer:
He is an elite athlete
Cisse’s twitch and athleticism is evident on tape and was backed up by his pre-draft testing.
He posted a 9.24 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) out of a possible 10, which featured incredible jumps of 41” in the vert and 10’11” in the broad. Those were 97th and 95th percentile scores respectively at the cornerback position.
His 40 time of 4.41 is impressive and important at the ultimate stopwatch position of cornerback. Cisse lettered in track in high school, setting a personal best of 11.12 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Combining the athleticism with good size at 5-11 ¾, he has all the physical tools to succeed.
He is very young
Older prospects have become the norm in recent years due to a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing influence of NIL and the transfer portal. That makes Cisse something of a rare commodity in this day and age, as he will not turn 21 years old until July.
That youth is enticing, as he already has a season of strong play in the SEC and his best football should be ahead of him, but he is still raw.
From an AFC national scout in NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein’s scouting report on Cisse: “You draft him more for tomorrow’s tools and not for today’s tape. The bad reps are going to get corrected. I like his makeup and his speed.”
He models his game after Stephon Gilmore
A native of Sumter, South Carolina, Cisse grew up as a fan of the South Carolina Gamecocks and idolized Gilmore, who was the 10th overall pick in 2012 and went on to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2019.
Cisse transferred to South Carolina in 2025 after spending his first two years of college at N.C. State. The two now have a relationship, and Cisse sees Gilmore as a mentor, modelling his game after him. They have very similar size and speed.
He is scheme versatile
Per The Athletic’s Dane Brugler in his draft guide ‘The Beast’, Cisse loves man-to-man coverage and “would be fine playing Cover 1 every snap” if he was allowed to.
While he did play a good amount of man in college (32% of the time in 2025, which ranked 51st of 208 qualified corners in the 2026 draft class), Zierlein noted in his report that Cisse is “scheme-versatile,” which will be important in Jonathan Gannon’s fluid scheme.
He is a competitive run defender
Brian Gutekunst has made it known that run defense is a very important aspect of what the team looks for in corners, and Cisse will not be shy in contributing in that regard.
His technique is questionable at times as he can be wild and out of control, but there is no questioning his willingness. Cisse’s missed tackle rate in the run game was not exceptional in 2025 at 10.5%, but he was tied for sixth in the class in run stop rate at 5.2%.
Per Brugler, Cisse has a great work ethic: “His coaches say he is an ‘extras’ guy and trains with a pro mindset.” His competitive nature will be welcome in Green Bay, and Brugler added that Cisse meshed well after arriving at South Carolina, gradually coming out of his shell as a teammate.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 5 quick things to know about Packers CB Brandon Cisse
Reporting by Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
