One Packers Position Battle Just Took Another Interesting Turn

GREEN BAY, Wis. – As expected, rookie Brandon Cisse is in the competition to start at cornerback for the Green Bay Packers. Also as expected, Benjamin St-Juste is in the competition to start at corner, as well.

What wasn’t expected? The defense that the Packers will roll onto the field for Week 1 at the Vikings could feature Cisse and St-Juste at cornerback instead of Cisse or St-Juste.

Cisse has been playing with the starters since the fourth practice of training camp, when returning starter Carrington Valentine dropped out with a hamstring injury. At this point, Valentine might be Wally Pipp to Cisse’s Lou Gehrig. Between production and potential, it’s going to be hard to take Cisse out of the lineup.

“We want to see him out there and see what he can do,” new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said last week of Cisse. “Obviously, we took him where we took him. He’s got the skill-set that we’re looking for, and he’s doing a good job of when he makes a mistake – mistakes are going to happen, especially for young guys in a new scheme – mistakes are OK (but) just don’t make the same mistake again. I think all our rookies are doing a good job of that.”

Is “CB1” Done?

The next big development started at Sunday’s closed-to-the-public practice, when St-Juste replaced Keisean Nixon with the starters for one period. It was an interesting development, to say the least, but not especially meaningful in the big picture. Nixon was back with the starters for the next period and the rest of the day.

Coach Matt LaFleur did his best Daniel Whelan impersonation as he punted a question about it before Monday’s practice.

“Well, I think there’s always competition,” he said. “All these guys got to be prepared for that. As far as the substitution, that’s not something that I’m always micromanaging. A lot of that’s on the position coach.”

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) catches a pass against cornerback Keisean Nixon at training camp. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

On Monday, it wasn’t just one period. The position coach, Bobby Babich, gave Nixon the first period, St-Juste the second period and they rotated the rest of the day. At this point, it looks like a full-fledged competition between Nixon, who would like a new contract commensurate with his status as “CB1,” and St-Juste.

“Everything's a competition right now, so we’re going to put different guys in different situations in different spots and see how they respond,” LaFleur said, more forthcoming on the topic when asked before Tuesday’s practice.

As noted in our latest Winners and Losers story, here’s the interesting dynamic. Nixon is part of the old regime. He followed Rich Bisaccia from the Raiders to Green Bay, but he’s no longer with the team. He became an every-down cornerback under Jeff Hafley, who’s also no longer with the team.

Gannon and Babich have no such allegiance to Nixon. He’s not one of Gannon’s guys. It doesn’t mean he can’t be – doesn’t mean he won’t be – but St-Juste and Cisse are the cornerbacks added since his arrival.

Nixon was chewed up and spit out during one-on-ones last week, including Matthew Golden torching him on all three reps on Family Night. The one-on-ones are a small part of the equation – and this is nothing but speculation – but it’s possible Gannon saw the effort and performance put out by Nixon, Cisse and St-Juste and decided to open the competition.

At this point, the cornerback competition could swing in several directions. Here are two. One, the starting secondary for the season-opening showdown against the rival Vikings and their high-flying set of receivers will be Nixon and Cisse, with St-Juste the next man up. Or, two, Cisse and St-Juste will start and Nixon will be on another roster.

The developments run beyond who will start. The backup battles have taken a twist, too.

Yesterday was the 10th practice of Packers training camp. Focusing on camp as a whole, here are a total of 1⃣5⃣ winners and losers. ⬇️https://t.co/lb4FoicQp8
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 11, 2026

Coming On Strong

With the returns of Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine and the additions of Benjamin St-Juste in the second round, Brandon Cisse in the second round and Domani Jackson in the sixth round, every other cornerback seemed to be chasing the impossible dream of earning a spot on the 53.

Jaylin Simpson has changed that thinking. He had a strong Family Night, including an interception during one-on-ones. In the closed practice on Sunday inside the Hutson Center, he broke up two passes. On Monday, he had a 99-yard pick-six but also another breakup and an impact blitz to blow up a running play.

Valentine has missed more than a week with a hamstring injury. Jackson, who had core-muscle surgery, which kept him out of the offseason practices, missed the last couple days of practice and hasn’t taken part in team drills. That’s allowed Simpson to move in with the No. 2 defense, where he has thrived.

“Those plays yesterday, those were hard plays to make,” Simpson said after Monday’s big day. “I had to really work for those. That’s all just technique, play recognition, splits, everything just coming together with those. You really got to be on top of your stuff.

“Hopefully, it means something, but like I was just saying, man, it’s in the past. The plays are made and the thing with the plays yesterday, is they’re good plays, but nobody remembers PBUs, for real. I want the ball in my hands. Those are cool and all, but I want interceptions.”

Meanwhile, In the Slot

Javon Bullard is the team’s standout in the slot. He will start, period, end of conversation.

Who will be the backup for times like now, when he’s out with a foot injury?

That appeared to be Johnathan Baldwin, who took all the No. 2 reps from the start of OTAs through the start of training camp. However, he suffered a knee injury and was replaced in the lineup by safety Kitan Oladapo.

Green Bay Packers cornerback Kamal Hadden (36) runs through a drill with position coach Bobby Babich at training camp. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

On Sunday, the Packers released Baldwin. On Monday, Kamal Hadden took his first 11-on-11 reps since last year’s horrible ankle injury against Baltimore.

“It went well. I enjoyed it. Built my confidence up and, sh**, I wanted more,” he said after practice.

At the time of the injury, Hadden had just replaced Carrington Valentine at corner with the No. 1 defense. On Monday, he was in the slot. It’s a position he said he hasn’t “played … much” in his career.

“I feel like it definitely allowed me to show my flexibility and what I can do inside and outside,” he said. “You know, the more you can do, the more valuable you are. So, I just think it’s a great opportunity ahead, but it could give me a few pushing points with the guys that are trying to make it.”

What is the challenge compared to playing corner?

“I feel like the challenge is you’re more so in the run fit,” he said. “You’re more in the core of the offense and the defense, and you got to read a lot of things, you got to know a lot of things. You got to be a general out there, as well. I’m already a vocal guy, so that’s really not an issue, but just reading the run fits and knowing where to fit and knowing what to do and things like that is probably the biggest challenge, but I’ve been picking it up well.”

For Hadden, returning to 11-on-11 reps was the next big step in his comeback.

“It meant a lot just to build my confidence up, helping me get my mind right and helping everybody else actually see that I’m back and I’m well and things like that,” he said. “I didn’t really like what I put out there but it was all good, man. It built my confidence up.”

Sure, Hadden wanted to do better, but they were his first reps in about seven-and-a-half months.

“Yeah, that’s the main thing is knocking off the rest and just reassuring myself that you’re all right, you’re good,” he agreed. “When you’re out there, man, it’s a feeling that you can’t describe every time. So, it was good.”

The Packers cranked out their first unofficial depth chart ahead of Thursday's preseason game. @JacobWestendorf examines what's real and what's wrong. ⬇️https://t.co/JX7Aw8oDEB
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 11, 2026

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