The Green Bay Packers may have spent their first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on cornerback Brandon Cisse, but the 20-year-old out of South Carolina shouldn't be expected to start immediately.
Green Bay has struggled to solve its cornerback position for many years. Jaire Alexander was a hit until he wasn't, and the team never found a viable CB2 opposite him. Now, incumbent starters Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine are questionable CB2s themselves, and pending free agents.
One way or another, Cisse figures to get plenty of run this season, and should break into the starting lineup before long. Brace yourselves, we have a hot take incoming as to when that could be...
Brandon Cisse era could begin in earnest with shocking Packers move at NFL trade deadline
Valentine might be lucky to avoid the chopping block when final roster cuts roll around. He wouldn't net much value at the NFL trade deadline. You know who would? Keisean Nixon.
For reasons that elude this writer's logic, Nixon, an All-Pro return man twice over, has eschewed those duties in favor of playing defense full-time. The results haven't been up to snuff. Barring some drastic offseason transformation, there's no world where Nixon emerges as some lockdown guy on the boundary.
If Cisse shows enough promise, Green Bay could very well roll with him, let him take his rookie lumps, and move off Nixon for a decent draft pick at the NFL trade deadline. Suitors should be keen on Nixon due to his special teams upside, which hasn't been tapped into at all of late.
As for the other cornerback spot opposite Cisse, well, as mentioned, Valentine might not make the roster. Free-agent signee Benjamin St-Juste seemed to have found something with the Chargers last season, and I'd have way more confidence in him than Nixon or Valentine from a pure coverage standpoint.
Also: Kamal Hadden is an intriguing dark horse in this group. Over the course of 689 coverage snaps at the University of Tennessee, Hadden yielded a mere 59.1 passer rating. He hasn't really gotten his shot in the NFL yet. Couldn't stand out among a crowded CB room in Kansas City.
The Packers are excellent at developing players, and Hadden could be their next diamond in the rough. Shoot, could he possibly be worse than Valentine or Nixon?
Reminder: Nixon committed 12 penalties in 2025, and still gave up seven TDs to one INT and a 105.2 passer rating. Valentine's passer rating allowed when targeted was 109.4. This is not good.
Long story short, it's a low bar for Cisse to clear. But the true beginning of his hopeful reign as a Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback in Titletown should start around the season's midpoint and the NFL trade deadline. Either Nixon (most likely) or Valentine should be on the move, lest the Packers overpay to re-sign them next offseason, or get very little (maybe a low comp pick?) when they walk.
Add us as a preferred source on Google