GREEN BAY, Wis. -- When training camp opened, there appeared to be one cornerback spot settled. Keisean Nixon, who started every game last season and was one of three Green Bay Packers to play more than 1,000 snaps on defense, had the left side spot locked down.
That would leave three players to fight for the right cornerback spot: returning starter Carrington Valentine, veteran free agent Benjamin St-Juste and rookie second-round pick Brandon Cisse.
Two weeks into camp, everything about the cornerback position appears to have flipped.
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Going into Thursday's preseason opener at the Pittsburgh Steelers (7 p.m. ET, NFL Network), Cisse looks like he has the inside track to a starting spot and Nixon might be in a fight for the other. Cisse has been a regular with the defensive starters at right cornerback ever since Valentine dropped out of practice because of a hamstring injury Aug. 2.
It's both a validation of what the Packers thought they had when they used their top draft pick (No. 52 overall) on Cisse and a question about whether they need to upgrade from Nixon, who despite leading the NFL with 15 pass breakups also led all defensive backs in penalties (13, including those accepted and declined), according to ESPN Research.
Cornerback Brandon Cisse was the Packers' first pick in the 2026 draft (No. 52) after they traded their first-round pick to acquire edge rusher Micah Parsons prior to the 2025 season. AP Photo/Matt Ludtke "Everything's a competition right now," coach Matt LaFleur said of the cornerbacks. "So we're going to put different guys in different situations in different spots and see how they respond."
Day after day, Cisse has gone up against the Packers' top receivers and held his own. In one practice this week, Cisse broke up a pass intended for receiver Christian Watson on the sideline but also gave up a completion to Watson. It's all part of the learning process for the rookie.
"I think it's helped me tremendously to go against somebody that talented every day," Cisse said. "It helps that his locker is right next to mine, being able to pick his brain and him being able to pick my brain on certain techniques that he may see.