The Green Bay Packers selected South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse with their first pick (second round, No. 52 overall) of the 2026 NFL Draft.
In 2025 Packers cornerbacks totaled just two interceptions on the season. Nate Hobbs was supposed to help bolster the unit when he signed a four-year, $48 million contract with Green Bay last offseason, but injuries and poor performance made him a disappointment, leading to his release back in March.
Brandon Cisse Could Make Immediate Impact as Starter for Green Bay Packers in 2026
GettyCB Brandon Cisse
In a weaker cornerback class, Cisse may have been a first-round pick. He had a productive three-year collegiate career at NC State (2023-2024) and South Carolina (2025), recording 65 total tackles two interceptions, 10 passes defensed, and one forced fumble. Here’s Dane Brugler of The Athletic’s scouting report on Cisse.
“An explosive athlete, Cisse plays with excess burst and speed to fly to the football. He tends to declare his hips early and relies too heavily on his athleticism rather than his technique or anticipation, leading to coverage losses. When he finds the football, he is capable of impressive athletic feats to knock it away, but he needs to be more consistent with his body phasing to shrink catch windows. Despite needing to clean things up in the run game, his downhill toughness is great to see.”
Cisse definitely will have to earn a significant role on defense, but has the upside to quickly develop into a starter. Until then, Brugler believes Cisse can be a key special teams contributor.
“Cisse is an unrefined, promising cover athlete with the twitched-up movements and speed to become an NFL starter. However, his pro ceiling will be determined by the development of his route recognition and ball skills. He offers inside-outside versatility with special teams (gunner) upside.”
Remaining Needs for Packers in Draft
The Packers could still use an impact pass rusher, whether its on the edge or in the interior. They traded away Colby Wooden and Rashan Gary, both of whom leave behind a lot of snaps to be played. They also lost rotational Kingsley Enagbare to free agency, who was a solid rotational player.
Green Bay signed veteran DT Javon Hargrave to a two-year contract, and has Devonte Wyatt, who made 10 starts last season. It will be counting on Lukas Van Ness in a big way to step up and be a consistent force off the edge. The 2023 first-round draft pick has been disappointing thus far.
The Packers could use some quality depth at offensive line, and potentially find someone to push Anthony Belton at right guard, who struggled as a rookie last season. The same could be said for wide receiver, although they are set up nicely at the position in 2026. However, only Matthew Golden, Savion Williams, and Jayden Reed are under contract in 2027 and beyond.
Don’t dismiss the possibility of Green Bay taking another cornerback. Even with Cisse now in the mix, it is still running low on true boundary corners. The Packers have seven picks remaining in the draft.
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