Packers boost cornerback depth by selecting South Carolina’s Brandon Cisse at No. 52 overall

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst lived up to his word and boosted the Packers’ cornerback depth by selecting South Carolina’s Brandon Cisse with their opening pick in the NFL draft Friday.

The Packers, who didn’t have a first-round pick, chose Cisse in the second round at No. 52 overall. This marked the latest that Green Bay has ever made its opening pick in a draft.

Green Bay addressed another position of need later Friday by sending a fifth-round pick to Tampa Bay to move up seven spots in the third round and take Missouri defensive tackle Chris McClellan at No. 77 overall.

“I’m really excited about these two guys,” Gutekunst said. “I think they can help our football team. I think they have really bright futures ahead of them.”

Gutekunst said at a pre-draft news conference Tuesday that cornerback was probably the position where “we’re going to need to add the most numbers.” Green Bay lacked proven cornerbacks beyond the tandem of Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine.

Gutekunst said he liked Cisse and McCellan enough to consider both of them with Green Bay’s second-round pick He had no qualms about trading up when McClellan was still available in the third round.

“We really had a few players with that first pick at 52 that we liked, and it was kind of a tough decision there,” Gutekunst said. “And then a couple of them hung around and we tried to get one, and we did.”

Cisse savored the opportunity to begin his NFL career in Green Bay. His emotional reaction to the announcement of his name was caught on camera during the draft telecast.

“It’s special,” Cisse said. “I saw the area code and I saw Green Bay Packers, and it’s like a moment come true. Just really can’t put it into words.”

Cisse said his girlfriend’s family members are big Packers fans from Wisconsin, giving him plenty of familiarity with his new team.

“Just a historic tradition,” Cisse said. “Cheesehead, Go Pack Go, just a very loud stadium, Lambeau Field.”

Cisse also said he spoke briefly with Nixon, another former South Carolina player. Cisse said he planned to learn everything he could from his new teammate.

Although Cisse’s college numbers don’t jump off the page, the Packers believe he has plenty of qualities that should translate to the NFL.

Cisse spent last season at South Carolina after playing two years at N.C. State. The 6-footer totaled 10 pass breakups and two interceptions in three college seasons.

Packers national scout Mike Owen said he lives about 35 minutes from South Carolina’s campus and spent plenty of time with Cisse.

“When you go there, they spoke highly of him in the weight room, at practice,” Owen said. “Smart kid, always watching a ton of football. Every time I went there, he was in the recruiting office watching the NFL, college or high school. That’s what I love about the kid. He really loves football at the end of the day.”

Cisse’s love for football was evident from the trip he took to watch last season’s NFC championship game at Seattle in person. He hopes to eventually be playing in a game with similarly high stakes.

“It’s something that you really strive for,” Cisse said. “So I look forward to it and being able to get in that kind of environment.”

The Packers got another SEC defensive player in McClellan, who started 22 games at Missouri over the last two seasons after playing for Florida from 2022-23. He recorded six sacks last season.

Green Bay wasn’t picking until Friday because the Packers had sent their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks to Dallas last August as part of the blockbuster trade that brought All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons to Green Bay.

Parsons had 12 1/2 sacks in 14 games last year before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that ended his 2025 season prematurely and likely will prevent him from being available for the start of the upcoming season.

“That was the first thing I thought about as soon as they hung up the phone and we see it on the screen, I get to play with one of the best in the game in Micah Parsons, man,” McClellan said.

This marked the first time Green Bay entered a draft without a first-round pick since 1986, though the Packers traded out of the first round on draft day in 2008 and 2017.

The Packers have five picks on Saturday, including two in the seventh round.

“You wouldn’t mind moving around a little bit,” Gutekunst said. “I think the board is strong, and there’s good players up there. It’s always hard just to stick to the very best player available, but particularly on the third day, I think if you can do that, you’re better off. And so, I don’t feel like (there’s) a pressing need. I didn’t feel that coming into this draft, and I don’t feel that now, that we have to go just fill a spot.”

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