The Green Bay Packers‘ secondary could look a whole lot different in 2026. In particular, the cornerback room which saw the departure of free agent disappointment Nate Hobbs and the acquisition of former LA Chargers CB Benjamin St. Juste and the selection of second round draft pick Brandon Cisse.
The pair could pose a serious challenge to incumbent starters Carrington Valentine and Keisean Nixon, both of whom had a slightly shaky year in 2025.
Specifically, the former South Carolina man, Cisse, appears to be in the team’s plans as a long-term solution on the perimeter of the second level of the defense.
As reported by The Packers Wire’s Zach Kruse, Green Bay’s first pick in this year’s draft may a little different from the player they saw work out at the combine at the end of February.
During much of the pre-draft process, Cisse weighed in at 189 lbs – lower than his reported playing weight of around 195-196 lb during the season. And for some teams that may have raised small alarm bells – 189 lb is on the lighter end for corners, whose prototypical size is closer to the 200 lb mark.
Brandon Cisse Set To Return to Previous Playing Weight
However, it would appear that this weight decline was temporary and done for a very specific reason, and that Cisse will return to his former playing weight during his inaugural season in the National Football League.
“Packers rookie CB Brandon Cisse weighed 189 at the combine, but he said he’s 195 now and played last year between 196-198.” Kruse posted on X on Monday.
Locked on Packers’ Peter Bukowski added in a quote tweet that the reason for Cisse’s reduced weight in the early spring may have come down to his desire to test better at the NFL Scouting Combine and the South Carolina Pro Day.
“Important to point out he was listed at 196 on the South Carolina athletics site. Those numbers are often misleading, but him slimming down to try and be as fast as possible makes sense.” Bukowsi explained on social media.
Cisse’s Weight Change May Have Aided Pre-Draft Performance
Perhaps his weight reduction explains in part Cisse’s blistering 4.4 40 time at his pro day back in mid-March, although the 20 year old was already broadly regarded to be one of the speedier cornerback prospects in the draft from his GPS tracking on his game tape.
The weight increase will also generally be a relief for Packers fans and the team brass, who may have been concerned at his sudden loss of mass, although this is likely something that team evaluators are fairly used to seering, particularly from skill position players and other prospects in highly speed-dependent roles.
Draft picks are very much for the future, rather than the now. But the combination of him being the team’s top draft pick and the Packers’ comparative weakness at the position would seem to indicate at least a reasonable chance of Cisse being very much in the mix to be one of the starting corners come – if not Week 1 – the first month of the 2026 season.
Brandon Cisse Speaks out on Weight Situation Ahead of Rookie Season