Packers Draft Report Card: Grade for Second-Round Pick Brandon Cisse

GREEN BAY – A couple weeks after the season went up in flames in the playoffs, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said he didn’t see the need to make “wholesale changes” at cornerback.

Yeah, about that …

In free agency, Gutekunst dumped Nate Hobbs and signed Benjamin St-Juste. On Friday night, the Packers used their first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft on South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse.

Wholesale or not, that’s a lot of change. Change for the better, obviously. All of a sudden, Green Bay’s cornerback room is a lot more compelling with St-Juste and Cisse poised to battle Nixon and Valentine for starting jobs.

Gutekunst was surprised Cisse was still available with the 52nd overall selection.

“He’s one of the few guys that can play off-man, that can play press,” Gutekunst explained. “His suddenness through transition is something that stood out to us. He’s very young. We think his best football is ahead of him. He’s got so much more left in the tank not only as a player but physically, as well. He can get bigger and stronger.

“He was one of those players that we didn’t see being available when we were picking at 52. We’re sure happy that he did. We’re really happy he took the step and went to South Carolina last year and kind of (faced) better competition and really showed well this past year.”

Sports Info Solutions had Cisse ranked as the No. 33 overall prospect. By its judgment, Cisse allowed a 43 percent completion rate at North Carolina State in 2024 and 41 percent at South Carolina in 2025.

That’s pretty good work for a 20-year-old.

“We’ve always tried to take guys who have more left in development,” Gutekunst said. “He played at a high level this year. We think he’s going to really help us next year, and we think his upside’s really good. There’s not a lot of 20-year-olds in the draft. We took one one time in Kenny Clark, and that worked out pretty well. We hope this works out that well. No hesitation.”

National scout Mike Owen pointed to Cisse’s foot quickness, athleticism, toughness, intelligence and physicality.

“He’s wired right,” he added.

What does that mean?

“Great character,” he said. “Been to the school, talk to sources, talk to the kid. I spent a lot of time with this kid. I live 35 minutes from the University of South Carolina, so I spent a lot of time with him. When you go there, they spoke highly of him in the weight room, at practice. Smart kid, always watching a ton of football.

“Every time I went there, he was in the recruiting office watching the NFL, college or high school. That’s what I love about the kid. He really loves football at the end of the day.”

Cisse is more than just a so-called “cover corner.” He’s an all-around corner with his run defense and tackling.

“I pride myself on being able to put myself in the fit, so I’m excited for it,” he said. “That’s something that I really love showcasing in my game is my being able to be a complete corner, so I pride myself on being able to come up in the fit and make a lot of plays.”

The one area Cisse didn’t make a lot of plays is in coverage. He had two interceptions in three seasons, including one this past season at South Carolina. Owen sees the ball skills, though, that will put Cisse in position to make more game-changing plays.

On the other hand, he only gave up one touchdown in each of his three seasons in college.

“You come into the NFL, you’re going to get the welcome to the NFL moments,” Owen said. “It’s just getting over that hurdle, getting over that adversity, but as long as your mind is set and you train right mentally and physically with your toughness, popping back up at the end of the day, taking that hit, but the toughness is always a mentality thing. You always have it. It doesn’t leave you, but it’s just about you maintaining it.”

The Packers badly needed to upgrade their cornerback room. During the 17-game regular season, Nixon had the only interception from the group. When push came to shove, they just weren’t good enough to get it done against top quarterbacks.

The combination of St-Juste, who played well for the Chargers last season, and Cisse gives the Packers the opportunity to be appreciably better against the high-profile quarterbacks and receivers that will stand between them and the Super Bowl.

Cisse also will provide some long-term stability at a position group in which only St-Juste is under contract for 2027.

“It’s special,” he said of getting drafted. “I saw the area code and I saw ‘Green Bay Packers’ and it’s like a moment come true. Just really can’t put it into words.”

Grade: A.

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