Pack-A-Day: Your Daily Packers Podcast

Packers Draft Primer - Brandon Cisse - CB - South Carolina

9 min
Apr 10, 20268 days ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Ross Uglum analyzes South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse, an NC State transfer, as a potential mid-round pick for the Green Bay Packers. Cisse is evaluated as an explosive athlete with strong tackling ability and recovery speed, but limited ball skills and zone coverage experience, making him a better fit for man coverage than the Packers' new zone-heavy defensive scheme.

Insights
  • Athletic testing metrics (vertical jump, shuttle time, 40-yard dash) directly correlate with on-film performance and help contextualize a player's functional abilities in game situations
  • Tall, thin cornerbacks (6'0", 189 lbs) can still be effective tacklers and run defenders despite weight concerns, challenging traditional draft evaluation thresholds
  • Scheme fit matters significantly in draft evaluation—Cisse projects better as a man corner but the Packers are transitioning to zone defense under new coordinator Jeff Gannon
  • Limited college snaps and ball production (2 INTs, 10 PBUs in 3 seasons) indicate a player who is athletically gifted but needs development in football-specific skills
  • Transfer portal movement is now normalized in college football evaluation and should not be treated as a character red flag
Trends
Increased prevalence of college transfers and portal movement making single-school evaluation obsoleteDefensive coordinator scheme changes significantly impacting draft fit assessments for secondary prospectsEmphasis on functional athletic testing over raw combine numbers for predicting on-field performanceTall, lean cornerback archetypes gaining acceptance despite traditional weight thresholdsBall skills and coverage recognition becoming more critical evaluation metrics for cornerback prospects
Companies
BlackRock Investment Trust
Sponsor providing investment and dividend services, featured in mid-roll advertisement segment
People
Ross Uglum
Host of Pack-A-Day podcast analyzing Brandon Cisse and providing scouting evaluation
Brandon Cisse
NC State transfer cornerback prospect being evaluated for NFL Draft by Green Bay Packers
Jeff Gannon
New Packers defensive coordinator implementing zone-heavy defensive scheme affecting cornerback evaluation
Brian Gudekunst
Packers GM who may be interested in athletic cornerback prospects like Cisse
Quotes
"Right now, Cisse is a better athlete than he is a football player"
Ross Uglum
"Football is just like the ultimate athlete's game. All of your athletic attributes can apply so directly to football"
Ross Uglum
"He's a willing tackler. He's a good tackler who can get off blocks and defend the run, screen and RPO games"
Ross Uglum
"If he was a complete football player as good an athlete as he is, he'd be a first round pick"
Ross Uglum
"Packers appear headed towards a heavy zone defense under their new coordinator. That's kind of where I am with the whole thing"
Ross Uglum
Full Transcript
Oh, it's bad. What? What would the people do it? Mate. Thought you'd be into it, Sam. What, me? No, that's deeply offensive. Harry, you're wearing socks and sandals. In public. Come on. I travel in style. You don't. It's a new low. They're the mullet of footwear. And what's wrong with mullets? Sharing moments you'll never live down. On The Train, you can. Hey, call my wife. Calling UK Wildlife. No, call my wife. Here's a cheese knife, Leicester. Voice assistance, not working for you. With BlackRock Investment Trust's hands-on investing, long-term approach to growth and regular dividends, you have a lot working for you. I live in Kent. Get to know BlackRock Investment Trust at blackrock.com. You have a lot working for you. Capital at risk, marketing material. BlackRock Investment Management UK Limited, authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. What is up, Packers fans, and welcome back to the Daily Draft, powered by Pack Report. I am your host, Ross Uglum. And today, we are breaking down South Carolina corner, Brandon Cise. I should get a pronunciation. This is great. This is great podcasting. Cise, Cise. All right, cool. Cise. All right, we got it. We nailed it. Brandon Cise, 6'189 pounds out of the University of South Carolina. He's an NC State transfer. So, you know, one of the many kids, you know, coming out that didn't play for the same school. And whatever. I mean, I would not knock a kid for that. I wouldn't do a character red flag, none of that. Like, it just, man, it is what it is now. Whether it's money, whether it's playing time, whatever. Anyway, it's just not something that worries me. Yeah. Played at NC State, transferred to South Carolina. I gave him a middle round two grade. And where did the Packers pick? The middle round two. Strengths. Explosive athletic, didn't work out at the NFL Combine. More great podcasting here. Wondering if. So he did, he did run on the 17th of March, which is obviously after the Combine 440. That makes sense. 41 inch vertical jump. That makes sense. I don't know that we have a bunch of other. I don't know that we have a bunch of other numbers. But, but again, and like I was going to say, really good athlete on film. So I would not be surprised. Okay. So poor shuttle time, but good speed, good vertical, good broad, linear zone corner, which honestly is what we're going to get into anyway. It's funny how much you can learn from reading athletic testing and then reading, you know, what, what you wrote about film, like people call the Combine the underwear Olympics. And I agree. I mean, it's not football, but everything I wrote about this kid on film, I had never seen any of those workout numbers. And then you just marry the workout numbers to what you see on film. Man, football, football to me is just like the ultimate athlete's game. All of your athletic attributes can apply so directly to football. There's, and there's skill, obviously throwing and catching and stuff like that. But like golf, basketball, hockey is so much skill tennis, so much hand out skill. You just like, you just an athlete. I just an athlete's athlete football and part of me, I mean, it's part of the reason why I absolutely love the sport. So yeah, explosive athletic ability shows up on film consistently. By the way, guys, I did corners for the guide. Please buy the guide anyway. But when I do corners for the guide, I'm reading off my own scouting report just so you know. But please, please buy the guide. Don't just watch these videos. Long cornerback, functional play strength, often surprising for a young cornerback who weighs less than 190. That could be a bugaboo for the Packers. Does a good job driving down again. This is that explosive, right? Your vertical isn't just your vertical. It's how explosive you are. And that's click to close. Cece has the deep speed to recover and is athletic enough not to need that recovery speed often. 4-4 flat, 4-4-0, 4 yard dash, that's recovery speed. This will get you excited. Cece has is a willing tack is not just a willing tackler. He's a good tackler who can get off blocks and defend the run screen and RPO games. He's successful at the catch point and does well in contested catch situations. His traits could lend themselves well to man coverage. Again, we're brought to you by the Green Bay Draft Guide, Power by Packer Report. Use promo code DRAFT for 10% off that. And if you wouldn't mind to check us out over at Packer Report as well. Becoming a VIP member gets you access to the entire 24-7 sports network. So, if you're interested in the North Carolina basketball coaching search that just happened or any big time recruiting news, transfer portal stuff, like if you're a nosy, I mean, nosy is a good term, but like if you're a nosy sports fan, go subscribe. And your access to Packer Report will give you access to the entire 24-7 sports network. So it's a nice little plus you'll get obviously all of our stuff that's behind our paywall. And it's a great way to support me and the boys. Okay, weaknesses. Doesn't have a ton of snaps, not a super experienced player. And I think that sometimes does show up in zone. I think he projects as a linear boundary zone corner, especially his ability to click to close. That's a huge thing in zone because obviously if you can't click and come down, you're just going to be giving up seven yard catches in front of you. Because that's, I mean, you're just going to be giving up things in front of you if you can't drive on the ball and he can. But like route recognition just might need a little seasoning, I would say. Ball skills, intercepting two passes and breaking up 10 in three seasons of college football. It's not enough production on the ball. Doesn't track the football great in the air. And I wrote and if this doesn't sound like a packer who needs a little seasoning. I wrote right now, see say is a better athlete than he is a football player. Well, if he was a complete football player is going to athlete is he is he be a first round pick and he's not. I don't think going to be a first round pick might not even be a second round pick. I mean, that's like, it's, it's you're going to get guys at that position, which is a premium position, no matter what the packers treated as. The cornerback is a premium position. You're not going to have a completely perfectly clean. Not going to have a completely perfectly clean situation. If you're taking a guy that late. Brandon see Packers fit little light for what Green Bay is wanted at the cornerback position, especially considering that he's tall. We've talked about this, you know, in the past, you're 511 190. That's one thing at 6 foot 6 foot and some change 189 you're pretty thin. I'm willing to give up that thin argument because of how well he tackles. I don't know if the Packers are young player, ton of athletic ability in that way he might catch the I a Brian Gudekunst. And with that said, he he right now is light and currently is a better man corner than zone. Think he projects as a good zone corner. This team could also use help now at the cornerback position. Maybe they've got a really, really good and only they changed some things up. Obviously, Gannon's new lost Eric Ansley lost down or like they've got new different guys in the secondary. You have to coach him up. Like I said, missed that weight threshold profiles more as a man corner. Packers appear headed towards a heavy zone defense under their new coordinator. So that's that's kind of where where I am with the whole thing. I find it unlikely. I don't find it impossible. And I think, you know, see say makes makes enough sense, but he would still be not the cleanest fit at corner that exists. Guys, thanks so much for watching or listening. If you're on the podcast side, links to buy the guide links to subscribe to pack report are in the show description or the podcast info as well. Have a great rest of your week and go pack go.