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Cornerback Brandon Cisse of the Green Bay Packers.
The Green Bay Packers spent their first pick of the NFL draft on cornerback Brandon Cisse, but he isn’t coming along as quickly as perhaps the team had hoped.
Green Bay selected Cisse No. 52 overall in Round 2 back in April. The franchise traded its first-round pick in 2026, as well as its first-rounder next year, to the Dallas Cowboys last August in exchange for pass-rusher Micah Parsons, so the 52nd choice on Day 2 of the draft was the first pick the Packers made.
That the team went with a cornerback confirmed that the Packers felt internally the same way most media members and fans did heading into this offseason: that the cornerback room was the greatest weakness on either side of the football.
The general consensus in the media has been that Cisse could break into the starting lineup as early as Week 1. However, Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated reported on Saturday, June 13, following the completion of mandatory minicamp, that the rookie defensive back has yet to do so.
“Cisse … took a handful of first-team reps most days during the offseason, but the returning starters, [Keisan] Nixon and [Carrington] Valentine, formed the No. 1 tandem for the overwhelming majority of snaps,” Huber wrote. “There’s no reason to believe they won’t be the starters to open training camp. How the group will come out of training camp is anyone’s guess.”
Brandon Cisse Longterm Answer, Short-Term Question for Packers
Green Bay Packers select CB Brandon Cisse 2026 NFL Draft
GettyGreen Bay Packers cornerback Brandon Cisse.
Without question, Cisse is the primary building block for the future of the cornerback position in Green Bay, but that might not help the Packers’ defense immediately.
Nixon and Valentine are each entering the final year of their respective contracts, which means unrestricted free agency next March if they don’t extend in Green Bay before then.
Benjamin St-Juste, who missed minicamp due to injury, inked a two-year deal with the Packers this offseason and could ultimately prove the class of the position group in 2026.
He went from a three-year starter with the Washington Commanders to a reserve with the Los Angeles Chargers last season, but nevertheless put up a career campaign in several categories including yards per completion (10.6), yards per target (5.7), touchdowns allowed (1) and opposing QB rating (68.3). However, he played just 356 total snaps, including only 245 in pass coverage.
Carrington Valentine Trade/Cut Candidate for Packers if Brandon Cisse Takes Summer Leap
Carrington Valentine Green Bay Packers
GettyGreen Bay Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine.
A viable outcome is St. Juste and Cisse assuming the top two CB spots at some point during the upcoming campaign.
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report went as far as to predict last month that Valentine could end up a cut candidate by the conclusion of the preseason in late August.
“Under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, rookie second-rounder Brandon Cisse, sixth-year veteran Benjamin St-Juste and rookie sixth-rounder Domani Jackson could compete for snaps on the boundary of the secondary, leading to questions about Valentine’s short-term future,” Moton wrote May 17.
Green Bay’s secondary is going to need to step up across the first month of the season, as Parsons announced recently he will likely miss the opening three or four games due to the return timeline from his ACL injury, which he suffered in Week 15 back in December.
Valentine’s current position as a starter, reflected by how the defense used him during minicamp this past week, and his dual potential as a trade/cut candidate later this summer, do not combine to bode well for the Packers’ defense just a three months out from Week 1.
As such, Cisse’s progress over the summer will likely be a major storyline in Green Bay.