After waiting 51 picks to finally make their first selection of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers picked South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse to help bolster a secondary which was in need of reinforcements.
Here is a comprehensive look at everything you need to know about Green Bay’s new corner:
The Basics
Cisse grew up in Sumter, S.C., and spent his entire college career in the Carolinas, playing two years at NC State before transferring to South Carolina in 2025.
He stands 5-11 ¾” tall, weighs 189 pounds and is an impressive athlete, registering a 9.25 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) out of 10, making him a 92nd percentile athlete among 3,072 cornerbacks since 1987.
His testing included elite explosion scores (97th percentile vert at 41”, 95th percentile broad at 10-11) and great speed (91st percentile 4.41 in the 40, 87th percentile 1.53 10-yard split).
Cisse skipped the 3-cone and only managed a 45th percentile shuttle score. His top athletic comps were Terrion Arnold, a former first-round pick of the Lions, and Jarrian Jones, who went to Jacksonville in the third round in 2024 and came to Green Bay on a pre-draft visit that year.
An early-declare after skipping his senior year, Cisse is a very young prospect, which is becoming more rare in the modern era. He will not turn 21 until July, which makes his strong performance in college, especially this past season in the premier conference, the SEC, more impressive.
On stepping up to the SEC in 2025, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said: “Really like the fact that he took the step and went to South Carolina last year and really showed well this past year. He played at a high level this year. We think he’ll help us next year, and we think his upside is really good.”
Cisse’s PFF coverage grades were 69.8 in 2023, 71.9 in 2024 and 71.2 in 2025, only taking a small dip after levelling up in competition. His run defense grade improved each year from 70.5 to 78.5 to 89.2. Meanwhile his tackling grades were 71.1, 84.3 and finally 67.9.
In Dane Brugler’s draft guide, he noted among Cisse’s strengths that he “Meshed well after arriving at South Carolina” and “gradually came out of his shell as a teammate.” Being able to make the jump in competition and fit into an NFL locker room will be important.
The stats
In coverage, Cisse allowed a lower completion percentage with each passing season, going from 61.1% as a freshman to 51.9% and then 47.4% in 2025, which ranked in the 86th percentile among draft eligible cornerbacks.
His NFL passer rating allowed was consistently strong at 77.3 in 2023, followed by 84.6 and 78.9, which ranked in the 61st percentile. He ranked in the 66th percentile for snaps per reception allowed in 2025, and only committed six total penalties in three seasons.
Cisse only allowed one touchdown in each season, and his combined pass break ups and interceptions went up from one to three to eight he ranked in the 92nd percentile for forced incompletion rate in 2025).
The knock is that he only had two career picks. He also dropped one in each of the last two seasons.
On his ball skills, national scout Mike Owen said: “He attacks the football, he’s aggressive with his hand combat, jarring the ball loose. If you can get the ball out and make sure the receiver doesn’t get a completion, that’s what you want.”
Asked about the lack of interceptions, Owen said: “It’s not a big deal because you’ve gotta look at the pass deflections also, that’s a big thing, how he’s playing at the catch point. Sometimes you just won’t get the opportunities. If you’re a good player, they might target the other side.”
On the negative side of the ledger, Cisse’s yards per reception allowed went up each year from 11.4 to 12.5 to 20.1, which was 3rd worst of 202 draft eligible corners in 2025. His yards allowed per snap also rose from 0.88 to 1.34 between his sophomore and junior seasons.
Yards after the catch was mostly to blame, as he allowed 163 yards after the catch last season compared to just 84 yards combined in the previous two years. Around 60 of those 2025 yards resulted from his own teammate wiping him out after allowing a catch versus Texas A&M.
If you remove YAC from the equation, Cisse allowed 0.59, 0.73 and 0.74 yards before the catch per snap, which is much more consistent.
He played plenty of man, sitting in the 75th percentile in man coverage rate in 2025, and a very similar rate in 2024. However, his passer rating allowed fell from the 63rd percentile in 2024 to the 29th in 2025. Likely a case of SEC receivers getting the best of him at times as he stepped up.
It is encouraging that he improved massively in zone coverage from 2024 to 2025 though, indicating him developing mentally in the type of coverage that requires more diagnosis. He ranked in the 88th percentile for reception rate allowed and the 86th for passer rating allowed.
Cisse had 13 run stops (tackles resulting in a failure for the offense) in both 2024 and 2025. His 5.2% run stop rate in 2025 was tied for 6th among 203 qualifiers. He also ranked 16th in average depth of tackle, showing he is happy to get involved near the line of scrimmage.
His tackling has been volatile, as his miss rate went from just 3.4% in 2024 (24 solo tackles, one miss) to 14.3% in 2025 (26 solo tackles, five misses). Cisse was still an above average tackler in the run game, but the issue was his pass game tackling, where his miss rate was up at 18.8%.
The tape
Cisse’s athleticism jumps off the screen. He is a very twitchy athlete and has the movement skills to be sticky in man coverage. Once he decides to go, his trigger speed on underneath routes is eye opening and he closes distances in a hurry.
It is going to be hard to win a straight race with him on vertical routes. When he has to turn and run, he doesn’t lose steam at all, maintaining his speed, and has the stop/start quickness to gear down and back up with receivers, staying in phase.
He has good foot quickness and will be able to mirror receivers in their release as long as he stays patient.
Cisse also flashes the ability to use his hands to his advantage throughout the route. He can land a firm punch in press at times or reach out to slow opponents as they try to explode out of their release, keeping them close.
When playing off, he is able to wait for receivers to get to him before smartly using contact to catch them, then his athletic traits to pivot and keep up on the route. If opponents break off a curl route he can hold on to stay close, doing it subtly enough to not draw a flag.
He is feisty and competitive at the catch point, trying to break up the pass or punch the ball out late. Cisse is very animated on the field and has the type of mentality you want from a corner.
In zone coverage he shows a good feel for the game, reading the QBs eyes and shading over the correct routes as required, and working with teammates to pass off and pick up assignments. He communicates well pre snap to respond to motions or the picture changing.
Cisse is switched on in zone, mid pointing routes at multiple depths to his side and ready to react downhill to underneath passes. He shows a sense for leverage, keeping an outside position in the red zone to shut down the option of a fade ball.
In run defense, he works to get off or more likely avoid blocks, run to the ball and tackle. There are plays where he senses a run, triggers from the boundary or a deeper position and makes tackles in the hole like he is a box safety.
He has 214 career slot snaps, playing there primarily as a freshman, and should be able to play inside or out with his dimensions. At South Carolina he played deep almost like a safety on a few snaps.
By all accounts he is a film junkie with a strong work ethic. Owen said he is a “smart kid” who is “always watching a ton of football.” Cisse’s coaches told Brugler he is an “extras” guy who trains with a pro mindset.
Unsurprisingly for a young player, there are issues and inconsistencies Cisse needs to work on.
His twitchy movements can veer into chaotic territory and mean he does not play under control, taking false steps in reaction to receivers’ movements or stumbling at times.
Brugler put it best, saying Cisse reacts “to movement instead of route clues.” He can be caught off guard by route cuts and get broken off, or bite when receivers are trying to set him up. That could be more of a problem at the next level against the NFL’s best route runners.
His trigger timing/anticipation is inconsistent and can be late, preventing him from competing at the catch point. There are some reps where he will bite on an underneath route and let one go behind him, others where he is too conservative when he doesn’t need to be.
He may need to add functional strength to help him in coverage. When he punches in press it often does not have enough oomph behind it, and receivers willing to take the fight to him can knock him around or separate using push offs.
The technique of his punch needs work as he can miss as receivers try to cross his face and be put in catch up mode. Sometimes he doesn’t use his hands at all in press. His 8th percentile hands will not help his ability to control opponents or secure interceptions.
Cisse can get handsy or overly physical on routes. The subtlety is not always there to get away with it. He lacks ball awareness at times and is not able to locate it or get his head around in coverage, allowing completions even if he is in phase.
His average agility shows up at times as good route runners can break him off on the last cut of their route. Some of his poorer games came against stronger competition, such as Texas A&M and LSU in 2025 or Clemson in 2024.
KC Concepcion gave him a tough time and that game got away from him. One bad play can lead to another and needs to develop a short memory to not let things compound.
Run defense is an adventure, as he is willing but a bit wild. Cisse will come flying downhill but miss by a mile after taking some odd angles to the ball. He dives at the ball carrier’s feet a lot and can slip off tackles.
Cisse lacks bulk to help him hold up especially against running backs, and mostly has to go around blocks rather than through.
Overall, Cisse is rough around the edges but has all the physical attributes he needs, and his intelligence, work ethic and ability to perform in the SEC as a 20-year-old bode well for his future in the NFL. There is a chance he starts from Day 1 and has a high ceiling long-term.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers draft pick profiles: Brandon Cisse boasts high ceiling
Reporting by Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
