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The Green Bay Packers entered the 2025 season with what looked to be a very weak cornerback depth chart.
That played itself out during the campaign, and they set out to improve this offseason.
First, they dove into the free agent pool to sign Benjamin St-Juste.
Then, they drafted Brandon Cisse out of South Carolina in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft -- and that was the Packers' first pick they made in the proceedings, so clearly it was a priority.
A big part of the plan, writes ESPN's Ben Solak, is to find a way to have Carrington Valentine on the field less.
"The Packers are notoriously patient with rookies, and Cisse is far from a finished product. South Carolina rotated its corners, and Cisse often didn't play full games, even in his final season," Solak wrote in a new article on Wednesday. "But the most favored outcome in the Packers' cornerbacks room is certainly Cisse winning the job over Valentine, who surrendered a passer rating of 126.1 when targeted last season. Only five outside cornerbacks were worse."
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The modern NFL calls for good cornerback play, and it also often requires teams to have more than just the traditional two CBs to really slow down opposing passing attacks.
The Packers didn't have that last season, but the hope is that they do now.
"Even if Cisse doesn't win the starting job outright, I would not be surprised to see him enter a rotation with Valentine (and St-Juste)," Solak writes. "Valentine struggles more with larger receivers, and Cisse and St-Juste should match up better."
Green Bay just snuck into the playoffs in 2025. If the Packers get improved play in the secondary, maybe they can be more convincing as a true contender in 2026.
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