Huard: A high-upside CB draft fit for Seattle Seahawks

Cornerback Brandon Cisse only spent the 2025 season at South Carolina, so he didn’t get a chance to play alongside fellow Gamecocks product and current Seattle Seahawks standout defensive back Nick Emmanwori in college.

But could that chance come with the Seahawks?

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Cornerback is one of Seattle’s biggest needs heading into next week’s NFL Draft. And the 6-foot, 189-pound Cisse is projected as a potential late first-round or early second-round pick, which puts him squarely in the defending Super Bowl champions’ wheelhouse.

Cisse began his college career at North Carolina State, where he spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons as a reserve cornerback and special teams player. He then transferred to South Carolina and blossomed, starting all 12 games for the Gamecocks in 2025.

Cisse didn’t put up eye-catching numbers last fall, recording an interception, five pass breakups, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

But with elite athletic traits, experts believe he has considerable upside.

Among cornerbacks at the NFL scouting combine, Cisse ranked fourth in the vertical jump (41 inches) and tied for fourth in the broad jump (10 feet, 11 inches). He also ran a reported 4.40-second 40-yard dash at his pro day, which would have tied for third among cornerbacks at the combine.

Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard highlighted Cisse as a potential Seahawks target during one of his draft profiles on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“This is about potential,” Huard said. “This is about how I want a corner to look, a corner to move and a corner to run – and I will figure out the rest. If I’m (Seahawks coach) Mike Macdonald, … I will take Riq Woolen and get the best out of him. I will take Josh Jobe and get the best out of him.

“(Just) give me this clay to mold.”

ESPN ranks Cisse as the No. 5 cornerback and No. 38 overall prospect in this year’s draft class.

In recent mock drafts, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler projected Cisse to the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 40 overall, while ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. slotted him to the New York Jets at No. 44 overall.

The Seahawks reportedly hosted Cisse earlier this month for one of their 30 allotted visits with draft prospects.

“I would say of the final guys on my list, he’s the one whose visit and time and interview matters the most,” Huard said. “How much ball do you know? How much can I grow you? How much can you learn and absorb and then improve?”

Cisse’s visit with the Seahawks wasn’t his first trip to Seattle. This past January, he attended the NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field, where he witnessed the Seahawks’ 31-27 triumph over the Los Angeles Rams. He was there to watch Emmanwori, who he knows from the 7-on-7 high school circuit.

“It was actually one of the best environments I’ve seen in a long time,” Cisse said at the NFL combine. “So yeah, I’ve seen the Seahawks and I study their defense.”

Listen to the full draft profile from Brock Huard at this link or in the audio player above. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Huard: A high-upside CB draft fit for Seattle Seahawks

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