Packers' improved depth at cornerback leaves Keisean Nixon fighting to keep his starting spot

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Boosting their cornerback depth was paramount for the Green Bay Packers as they sought roster upgrades after capping a five-game skid to end their 2025 season with a wild-card playoff collapse.

The impact of their moves is evident from the fact that Keisean Nixon, the Packers’ top cornerback a year ago, finds himself in a competition to keep his starting spot. Nixon occasionally has worked with the second-team defense in training camp following the Packers’ offseason additions of rookie second-round draft pick Brandon Cisse and veteran free agent Benjamin St-Juste.

“I guess I’m being punished right now, I guess, I don’t know,” Nixon said. “I don’t really worry about what I’m running in camp, ones or twos, I just keep my process and just compete — for real.”

Nixon, a two-time All-Pro kick returner, earned his first Pro Bowl selection on defense last year as an injury replacement. He is the only cornerback in the NFL to have at least 70 tackles, six passes defensed and an interception in each of the last three seasons.

But that doesn’t mean he has anything locked up this year.

“We have a corner competition,” new Packers secondary coach Bobby Babich said Friday, a day after Green Bay’s preseason opener. “That’s what we have.”

The Packers also return Carrington Valentine, who has started 30 games over the last three seasons but missed part of training camp with a leg injury.

Green Bay’s lack of cornerback depth last year was apparent when the Packers gave up 25 fourth-quarter points and blew a 21-3 halftime lead in a 31-27 playoff loss at Chicago. Three weeks earlier, the Packers fell 22-16 in overtime at Chicago after allowing the Bears to score on each of their last four possessions.

Head coach Matt LaFleur discussed what he wants from his cornerbacks.

“Obviously, it starts with doing your right assignment, and then it comes down to your style of play,” LaFleur said. “How are you competing going after the ball, not only in the pass game but in the run game, as well? Are you sticking your nose in there? We need corners that are willing and capable tacklers.”

Cisse has made a noteworthy first impression in that regard as he begins his pro career after playing at N.C. State (2023-24) and South Carolina (2025).

“The guy’s a film junkie, wants to be really good, puts in the work that it takes to be really good,” Babich said. “It’s similar to some of the rookies that I’ve been around in my past that have success early on, specifically at that position and it’s really about the way he goes about his work.”

Cisse believes there’s still plenty of work to do.

“Obviously there’s going to be moments where you see flashes and things like that, but there’s a lot of growing pains I’m also going through,” he said. “I need to get better at those things. I’m just excited to clean it up and continue to get better every day.”

St. Juste also has stood out.

Although he played only 35% of the Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive snaps last season, St-Juste performed well enough in those opportunities that his Pro Football Focus rating ranked 12th among all NFL cornerbacks.

“I like the fact that with the limited amount of snaps that I had, I was capitalizing on it,” St-Juste said. “Every time, every chance I had to be on the field, I was either in good coverage making a play. I’m just trying to build on that, add more reps this year and make more plays and slowly start to ascend as a player.”

Nixon’s background suggests he won’t give up his starting spot without a fight. He had to work his way to get to this point.

“I don’t view myself in no competition,” Nixon said. “I come here to compete for myself. What they do and who they choose, that’s out of my control.”

Nixon, 29, spent his first three seasons primarily as a special teams contributor with the Raiders after signing as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina. He came to Green Bay in 2022 and emerged as an All-Pro kick returner his first two seasons with the Packers while gradually getting more playing time on defense.

He became the Packers’ top cornerback when injuries limited Jaire Alexander for much of the 2024 season and maintained that role after Alexander was released in the summer of 2025.

“Everybody knows my story,” Nixon said. “I came from the bottom, got to where I’m at. It doesn’t bother me running with the twos, threes. It don’t matter. It’s hard to keep me off the field. So when it’s time to play, I know what time it is.”

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