Packers Film Room: CB Brandon Cisse brings exceptional athleticism and aggression

Cisse gets a lot of well-deserved praise for his run defense. He approaches it with the right mindset and possesses the lateral quickness to slip blocks and get into position to bring down ball carriers, as he does here.

Creating separation doesn't come easy against Cisse. He plays with good balance, and his quick feet allow him to mirror receivers and transition smoothly to drive on throws underneath. And again, we see his ball skills and length come in handy to break up a pass.

There are times when Cisse (#15) will come in too hot as a run defender. But when he's under control and maintaining his leverage, like on this option play, he's in a great position. He nearly forces a turnover here.

As Gutekunst mentioned, Cisse is comfortable in both off-man and press coverage. Here, he's in off-man, which allows him to focus on the quarterback. He shows good recognition to read and react to the receiver running a slot fade. Notice how Cisse never takes his eyes off the ball after it's thrown--hopefully, he continues to work on playing the ball instead of the receiver. He almost makes a diving interception, but is unable to hold on.

Cisse is quick to trigger when he diagnoses the run, and when he has a full head of steam coming downhill, it's basically like having another safety on the field. His aggression prevents him from fully wrapping up at times, but he makes this play nonetheless.

A poor decision by the quarterback leads to an easy interception for Cisse. This rep shows his vision and ability to quickly shuffle into position to make the play. He goes with the basket catch instead of high-pointing the ball, but at least he secures the interception. This is his only pick from last season.

Cisse's performance against Texas A&M last year was easily the worst of his career. Pro Football Focus credited him with surrendering three receptions for 138 yards. This wasn't one of them, but it's a good example of his comfort level in press coverage and how fluid his movement skills are.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to like about Cisse’s game. He has the tools to be a starting NFL corner, but how well he can refine his technique will determine if he reaches his ceiling.

Run defense is where Cisse can potentially separate himself from Carrington Valentine, who will be competing for one of the starting cornerback jobs. Valentine is a below-average run defender and tackler, whereas teams will think twice about running to Cisse’s side due to his willingness to defend the run, quick downhill trigger, and ability to slip blocks.

In coverage, he's got exceptional foot speed and movement skills to mirror receivers. He excels in man coverage, which fits well within Jonathan Gannon’s quarters-based scheme that asks corners to hold up in isolation.

Unfortunately, Cisse's lack of patience with his hips makes him susceptible to double moves. He didn't generate much ball production in college, but faster processing, continuing to work on route recognition, and using his length to his advantage should help him improve in this area. You'd also like him to become a more fundamentally sound tackler. Right now, he's a bit of a human torpedo, which will lead to more misses at the next level.

The good news is that Cisse is entering a situation where he won’t be forced to play right away. Keisean Nixon, Benjamin St-Juste, and Valentine have the experience edge, but that doesn't mean Cisse can't get on the field as a rookie. The upside is there for him to develop into a long-term starter, but it won't happen overnight.

This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers Film Room: Breaking down second-round CB Brandon Cisse