Vikings 2026 Draft Profile: South Carolina CB Brandon Cisse
Continuing the Vikings 2026 Draft Profile series is South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse.
Cisse played both defensive back and wide receiver at Lakewood High School in South Carolina. He played his first two seasons with NC State before transferring back home to South Carolina. Cisse’s impact was felt immediately, where he won Newcomer of the Spring honors for the defensive side of the ball and Co-Newcomer of the Spring honors for special teams.
He started all 12 games in 2025, totaling 27 tackles (1.5 for loss), 2 QB hurries, 1 interception, and 5 PBU’s. He also forced one fumble.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Brandon Cisse
We’re following the newly adopted style of the 2026 Vikings Draft Profiles, bullet-pointing each prospect’s strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths:
- Has elite lateral burst and downhill burst aids his innate ability to bite down on the run. This also allows him to stick to opposing receivers in man coverage.
- Great arm length and wingspan widen his radius to defend incoming passes.
- Great footwork and loose hips give him natural transition ability, which doesn’t give up much ground to receivers making breaks in his routes.
- Possesses a good ability to jam receivers at the line, disrupting their release.
- Excels in both hard and soft press when in man coverage.
- Elite speed shows on the field; rarely gets beaten deep and when he does, has more than enough recovery speed to make up ground.
- Mentally processes against the run quickly, flattens pursuit angles around blocks.
Weaknesses:
- Zone coverage skills need full-fledged development; it will likely take a couple of seasons for him to excel in zone assignments at the pro level.
- Can bite easily on double-moves; does possess fluid hips, but bites too easily and early against top releasers.
- Relies a bit too much on his recovery speed.
- Quick to grab a hold of receivers when he feels behind the play; shows hesitation to let his natural athletic ability clear the path for a good defensive rep.
- Tackling game needs refinement; attempts a lot of unorthodox styles of tackling that lead to whiffs and allow bigger plays. Needs to find a way to bring his great physicality against the running game behind the line into his play downfield against ball carriers.
- Does have a bit of injury history; missed time in 2024 and exited multiple games early in 2025.
Brandon Cisse on the Minnesota Vikings
Cisse could find himself as a Day 1 starter right away in Minnesota. Currently, as it projects, the Vikings’ top two corners in 2026 will be the duo of Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers Sr. The real concern is the depth, as the only other corners under contract are a bundle of UDFAs from years past.
Brian Flores can make a good player out of anyone, and you can assume the same of Cisse. With some good coaching, Cisse could clean up the areas in which he lacks and become a quality starter for whichever team drafts him, which will likely be in the first round.
He will likely be available when the Vikings select 18th overall. The most recent Vikings draft pick to play college ball at South Carolina was TE Nick Muse, whom Minnesota picked 227th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
