Brandon
Cisse.
Brandon
Cisse.
South Carolina· 6'0"· 189 lb· 4.40s 40
"Twitchy sub-190 boundary corner with a 41-inch vert and a 4.40 Pro-Day forty who plays the ball like a receiver; the eval hinges on how the sub-31-inch arms and slender frame hold up in NFL press."Pre-draft read
This outside corner operates in both off-man and off-zone coverage, occasionally showing press looks. His primary strength is closing burst; he reads route stems from a compact pedal, plants without gathering, and squeezes throwing windows on comeback and curl breaks with a full-body drive to the ball. He also excels at high-point ball production, timing leaps on contested throws and attacking the football like a receiver, converting near-PBUs into on-body deflections.
His feet remain quiet in the pedal, and his hips flip cleanly when he correctly keys. His long-speed enables him to recover deep, carrying vertical routes inside the numbers without yielding separation. He is willing but underpowered as a run-defender, leveraging the sideline and diving at ankles.
This prospect best fits a Cover-3 match or four-DE Fangio two-high system that prioritizes zone looks with occasional off-man, allowing him to use his closing burst and recovery speed effectively.
Year 1: immediate depth in a Cover-3 match or zone-heavy scheme, providing valuable snaps on the outside. Ceiling: long-term starter at boundary corner, excelling in contested catch situations and run support.
Aggressive press-man schemes that require frequent rerouting and physical jams at the line of scrimmage, where his below-average length and rawer press technique would be exposed.
Brandon Cisse projects as a high-upside outside cornerback for a zone-heavy scheme, leveraging his elite athleticism and ball skills despite his limited frame and raw press-man technique.
2026 NFL Combine — Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina
Full Combine on-field workout, including the 41-inch vertical jump and 10-foot-11 broad.
20-year-old with all the traits: Brandon Cisse
Independent trait breakdown highlighting closing burst, ball skills and pattern-match instincts.
Brandon Cisse is a natural student of the game
Feature clip on Cisse's film habits, Woodson tribute and pre-draft interview arc.
This prospect projects as a scheme-versatile corner with above-average ball skills and recovery speed, best utilized in off-zone or pattern-match schemes where his explosive closing ability can be maximized. A team investing in him is buying a high-ceiling athlete whose 41-inch vertical suggests a significant advantage in contested catch situations, particularly in the red zone.
He played one season at South Carolina as a transfer, recording 27 tackles, one interception, and five pass breakups. Prior to that, he amassed 12 PBUs over his two previous years at NC State. Despite limited Power Five starting experience, evaluators favored his athletic traits, usage from a compact pedal, and ability to squeeze throwing windows.
Concerns centered on his sub-31-inch arm length and limited production volume in his final college season. Consensus placed him as a Day 2 selection, with the potential to be one of the top corners off the board if his medicals and measurables during the draft process held up. He was ultimately drafted in the second round, pick 52.
- 01
Elite vertical explosion
A 41-inch vertical leap and 10-foot-11 broad jump distinguish him in contested catch scenarios, translating to red-zone jump balls and end-zone fades.
- 02
Recovery long speed
Taped 4.40 confirmed his ability to recover on deep routes, allowing him to carry verticals inside the numbers without losing stacked position against top-tier speed.
- 03
Ball skills for a corner
With 12 pass breakups over two seasons, he consistently high-points contested throws, actively attacking the ball like a receiver rather than merely attempting pass deflections.
- 04
Fit for off-zone/pattern-match
Reads route stems effectively from a compact pedal, using a plant-and-drive closing burst to squeeze throwing windows, making him a plug-and-play option in match-quarters looks.
- 05
Football character and storyline
A Sumter native, he chose #15 in tribute to Charles Woodson, and reports indicated positive feedback from NFL staff following his interview circuit.
- 01
Frame limits at the position
Sub-31-inch arms and 8½-inch hands are a notable limitation, suggesting NFL receivers with superior length could wall him off on outside releases and back-shoulder throws.
- 02
Small-sample production
With only one Power Five starting season and just one interception at South Carolina, his projection relies heavily on flashes and workout numbers rather than sustained on-field volume.
- 03
Physicality vs. the run
While willing to engage at the sideline, he tends to dive at ankles rather than absorb blockers, indicating he will struggle against pulling guards and in force-defender roles early in his career.
- 04
Press-man tools raw
His jam is a hand-flash rather than a forceful two-hand stab, leading to lost reroute reps against physical boundary receivers. His feet are quiet, but the upper body technique is underdeveloped.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.40sp50
- Vertical
- 41inp50
- Broad jump
- 131inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- 4.33sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | NC State | 13 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | NC State | 9 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | South Carolina | 11 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Career | — | 33 | 65 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Undersized outside-nickel hybrid who wins with anticipation and pattern reads more than with press strength.
Length-limited boundary corner whose ball skills and closing burst carry him to CB1 outcomes in a match-heavy scheme.
Traits-plus workout riser whose sub-31-inch arms and physicality issues push him into a matched-zone/nickel niche.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
**Pre-draft context.** Cisse arrived at South Carolina in the 2025 transfer cycle as an under-recruited NC State starter looking for a bigger stage in his home state — a Sumter, S.C., product who had been part of the state pipeline behind Stephon Gilmore, Jaycee Horn and Nick Emmanwori without ever getting the Gamecocks offer out of Lakewood High. One season in a collegiate defense (27 tackles, 1 INT, 5 PBUs, 1 forced fumble) was enough to translate the traits into first-round mock buzz, and the athletic testing arc — 41-inch vert and 10-foot-11 broad at the Combine, then a 4.40 forty and 4.33 shuttle at the March 17 Pro Day in front of nearly 60 personnel evaluators — turned him into one of the biggest workout risers on the corner board.
**NFL fit — Green Bay Packers.** The Green Bay Packers passed on adding at corner in the first round for the second straight cycle and doubled back at 52 to add a length-tolerant, ball-hunting boundary body opposite Nate Hobbs and Keisean Nixon. The defensive scheme leans on off-zone with disguised bracket looks — a comfortable landing spot for a corner whose eyes and closing burst are ahead of his press strength. Reports out of Ashwaubenon have him running with the No. 3 outside corners and repping matched slot in nickel packages; the Green Bay organization has spoken publicly about protecting him from mismatch bodies in Weeks 1–4.
**Retrospective.** Too early to grade the career — Cisse has taken zero regular-season snaps as of late July 2026. The pick reads as a bet on athletic ceiling and ball production over frame, in a defense that can hide the length concerns with structure. If the 4.40 speed and 41-inch pop show up on Sundays and the arms don't become a red-zone giveaway, Green Bay lands a Day-2 CB2 by his second contract. If NFL X's bully him off the line and inside the numbers, the outcome is a matched-zone/nickel role — still a hit at 52, but not the first-round upside the pre-draft buzz priced in.