Green Bay Packers’ cornerback Brandon Cisse (2) walks to practice during the NFL football team’s rookie minicamp in early May.
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The Green Bay Packers were arguably the most disappointing team in football last year. And perhaps no one did less with more than Packers’ coach Matt LaFleur.
Green Bay headed into the 2025 season with one of the NFL’s top rosters, then traded for star defensive end Micah Parsons 10 days before the year began. Suddenly, Packer Nation was dreaming of their first Super Bowl appearance since 2010.
Instead, Green Bay went a remarkably unsatisfying 9-8-1 overall and was the NFC’s No. 7 seed for a third consecutive year. The Packers then blew a 21-3 halftime lead in the Wild Card round against Chicago, gave up 25 fourth quarter points and eventually suffered a shocking 31-27 loss to the arch-rival Bears.
“No way you should lose games in this league when you’re up that much,” running back Josh Jacobs said.
Green Bay, which began the year 9-3-1, finished the season with five straight losses. The Packers now enter 2026 with the league’s fourth-longest losing streak.
Collapsing late in games was the story of Green Bay’s 2025 campaign.
Green Bay had double digit leads in the final minutes twice against Chicago and also vs. Cleveland and somehow went 0-3 in those games. The Packers’ odds of losing all three contests were 1-in-250,000, yet they somehow did it.
“That (expletive), it’s starting to get damn-near embarrassing,” safety Javon Bullard said.
Rebounding won’t be easy as the Packers were hit hard in free agency and didn’t have a first round draft pick.
Green Bay’s first training camp practice is July 29. Between now and then I will count down the ‘30 Most Important Packers’ heading into the 2026 campaign.
At No. 22 is cornerback Brandon Cisse.
No. 22
Brandon Cisse, CB
Last season
After spending two years at North Carolina State, Cisse transferred to South Carolina for the 2025 campaign.
Cisse was named the Gamecocks’ Newcomer of the Spring on defense, then started all 12 games in the fall.
Cisse finished the year with 27 tackles (19 solos), 1.5 tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries, an interception and a forced fumble. He also tied for second on the team with five pass breakups.
According to Pro Football Focus, Cisse’s overall defensive grade of 75.2 ranked 186th out of 896 qualifying cornerbacks. His run-defense grade of 89.2 ranked 18th at the position, while his coverage grade of 71.2 ranked 313th among 896 qualified cornerbacks.
Cisse also allowed a 78.9 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks.
Career to date
Cisse is 5-11 ½, 189 pounds and didn’t turn 21 until July 3. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds at his pro day.
Cisse spent two years as a reserve at North Carolina State, then transferred to South Carolina for his final season.
Cisse finished his three-year career with just two interceptions, 10 passes defensed and 65 tackles. He posted a vertical jump of 41 inches and a broad jump of 10 feet, 11 inches before the draft.
Outlook
Cisse will wear No. 2, partially due to his affection for former Packer cornerback Charles Woodson. If Cisse is half the player this season that Woodson once was, Green Bay will be thrilled.
The Packers had just seven interceptions in 2025, which ranked a dismal 28th in the NFL. That also tied for the fewest interceptions in a season in franchise history.
Green Bay returns the underwhelming duo of Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine as its starting corners. Benjamin St-Juste, now on his third team, was added in free agency.
Cisse, the Packers’ second round draft pick and the sixth cornerback taken overall in April, will get the chance to start from Day 1. The guess here is if Cisse has a respectable training camp, Green Bay will live with some early growing pains and sink or swim with him from the jump.
They said it …
“He’s one of the few guys that can play off man, that can play press. 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 (No.) 52. We’re sure happy that he did.” — Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst on Cisse
“I thought he had good ball skills. When you go to practice, you pay attention to that stuff, see how they catch it. When you see the game clips, he attacks the football. He’s aggressive with his had combat, jarring the ball loose. Picks is picks, but at the end of the day, at that catch point, if you can get the ball out and make sure the receiver don’t get a completion, that’s what you want.” — Packers national scout Mike Owen said of Cisse
“It definitely helped my game. It changed my game. Great coaching staff. It taught me how to play in the SEC which I feel is one of the highest levels of competition and they put me in an NFL scheme, a great place to showcase my ability.” — Cisse on playing one season at South Carolina
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