One Position Battle That Will Heat Up in a Hurry for Packers

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst made a series of key moves at cornerback.

The coaching staff did not.

In the wake of a horrendous season in which Nate Hobbs was a $48 million free-agent bust and the position group intercepted only one pass, Gutekunst released Hobbs, signed Benjamin St-Juste and drafted Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson.

Nonetheless, last year’s starters, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine, took probably 95 percent of the No. 1 reps during the offseason practices.

The plot, presumably, will thicken once training camp begins late next month.

St-Juste, who signed a two-year contract in free agency, missed all three weeks of practices due to an undisclosed injury.

There are high hopes for the 6-foot-3 veteran. A third-round pick by Washington in 2021, he started 42 games from 2022 through 2024. In 2023, he finished fourth in the league with 17 passes defensed.

He wasn’t as effective in 2024 and settled for a one-year contract with the Chargers in free agency in 2025. He played in 16 games with two starts and played 245 coverage snaps. Of the 97 corners with that many coverage snaps, he ranked ninth with a 50.0 percent completion rate allowed, according to Pro Football Focus.

“I think that’s a wait-and-see approach. I am excited about the player, though,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “We’ve gone against him when he was in Washington. Certainly, what he put on tape last year with the Chargers, I thought was impressive.

“He’s a really intelligent guy, so I’m excited about him. Obviously, you can’t coach that size and length that he possesses, so he’ll definitely be in the mix.”

Big-Time Season for St-Juste

To be sure, it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison, but check out St-Juste’s numbers from PFF compared to Nixon and Valentine.

Completion percentage: St-Juste, 50.0 percent; Nixon, 61.0 percent; Valentine, 56.4 percent.

Forced incompletion percentage: St-Juste, 18 percent; Nixon, 17 percent; Valentine, 7 percent.

Yards allowed per catch: St-Juste, 10.8; Nixon, 11.4; Valentine, 12.0.

Passer rating allowed: St-Juste, 64.0; Nixon, 105.2; Valentine, 109.4.

Coverage penalties: St-Juste, 2; Valentine, 4; Nixon, 12.

Missed-tackle percentage: St-Juste, 3.3; Nixon, 5.3; Valentine, 22.7.

Based on that production, there’s no question St-Juste should not just be in the running for a starting job but win it outright. However, he’s got to get healthy and he’s got to show his tremendous season wasn’t a mirage after allowing a 102.9 passer rating with 11 penalties in 2023 and a 107.0 passer rating with nine penalties in 2024.

Packers Draft Brandon Cisse, Domani Jackson

The Packers used their second-round pick on Cisse, who thrived in his one season at South Carolina after transferring from North Carolina. PFF charged him with only a 47.4 completion percentage last season.

He’s all football, all the time – a trait that no doubt endeared himself to Green Bay’s coaches.

“They drafted a guy who seems like, if he told me what his hobby was, as far as I know, it seems like it would be football,” South Carolina co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Torrian Gray told Packers On SI. “He’s just a real ball junkie.”

Cisse took part in all of the offseason practices and played a smattering of first-team reps. He’ll probably get more opportunities once training camp is rolling.

“Yeah, he looks pretty good,” LaFleur said. “Certainly, he’s got a ton to learn and a lot to improve upon, as to be expected of any young player. But he’s got to continue to build on the foundation he set, and I think for all these guys it’s critical when they’re away from here, it’s the work you put in is going to show up when training camp comes around.”

That’s Cisse’s intention.

“Obviously, he’s worked with a lot of great corners,” Cisse said of defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. “Obviously, Darius Slay and Xavier Rhodes, those are guys that we're watching, breaking down tape, and then coach (Bobby) Babich does a really good from when he was in Buffalo. He's got a really good plan for me and I'm excited for it.

“But it starts one day at a time. I got to keep working and getting better. Got to dominate this scheme, keep taking everything in, and being a sponge.”

The Packers drafted Jackson in the sixth round. He had a horrendous senior season, losing his starting job at one point, before rebounding with the help of HaHa Clinton-Dix and playing well in the final few games.

Jackson missed all of the offseason practices with an undisclosed injury.

“Very excited to coach him,” position coach Daniel Bullocks said at the start of the offseason program. “He did a good job at (rookie) minicamp. He’s athletic, he can run. He’s got size, he’s got length, he’s got some ball production.

“The thing about him, he’s got a lot of experience playing the corner position, playing at Alabama, playing at USC. He can play off, he can play press, he can tackle. He’s got the play style we’re looking for at the corner position.”

Don’t Forget About …

Also missing the offseason practices was Kamal Hadden, who replaced Valentine for the start of the second half of a late-season loss to the Ravens but suffered a season-ending injury that kept him on the sideline throughout the spring.

Like with Jackson, Hadden will be in catch-up mode. The fight for each player might be to make the roster and not fight for the starting job. But the talent is there for both to push for playing time as the season progresses.

Of course, Nixon and Valentine aren’t gone so shouldn’t be forgotten. Nixon finished among the league leaders in passes defensed and wound up in the Pro Bowl. The view on Valentine might have been different had he caught the three interceptions that he dropped.

They are the starters. Someone is going to have to beat them out.

“Hearing like Dak (Prescott) or Jalen Hurts tell me positive things, talk to me like, just conversations, make you feel good,” Nixon said. “We understand, the league really know who you are. At the end of the day, you want to get the respect from your peers.”

For the Packers, the need is short and long term. For this season, Green Bay needs vastly better play for its cornerbacks. Combined, they gave up 15 touchdowns and intercepted one pass in the regular season.

From the long-term perspective, Nixon and Valentine will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.

It all adds up to cornerback being arguably the hottest competition in training camp to determine who will be on the field in Week 1 to contend with the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings – arguably the best receiver trio in the NFL.

Every year, I rank every player on the Packers roster based on talent, importance, salary etc. I will again this year, too.

For now, let's cut right to the chase. Here is a quick-hitting look at the 2⃣5⃣ most important players for the 2026 season.⬇️https://t.co/ezDAkl7vmd
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 17, 2026

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