Keisean Nixon is going to play. A lot.

There’s a version of the Keisean Nixon conversation that has been playing on loop in the greater Packers chattersphere: He misses a tackle, gets flagged, gives up a completion, or maybe shows poor effort in a preseason game, and suddenly the question becomes why the Packers keep him around at all.

That criticism isn’t entirely unfair. Nixon does have flaws, and his 2025 season included enough maddening moments to make fan frustration quite understandable. The Packers themselves have made it clear that his role isn’t entirely guaranteed, particularly after adding second-round pick Brandon Cisse and veteran Benjamin St-Juste.

But there’s a giant gap between “Nixon isn’t a great corner” and “Nixon isn’t a starting-caliber NFL corner.”

Nixon started all 17 games last season and played over a thousand snaps on the outside. He also led Green Bay in pass breakups and earned Pro Bowl alternate recognition (you can take or leave that last point). The point is, that’s not the résumé of a player who should be treated as a liability every time he steps on the field.

In fact, the latest evidence suggests the Packers still see lots of value in Nixon. ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported Wednesday that Nixon had fought his way back into the top cornerback mix after spending stretches with the second- and third-team defense earlier in camp.

For any fans getting annoyed at my prattling on, here’s what’s bugging me: there aren’t enough true CB1s for every team. Several teams have one, but most teams have zero. The cornerback room specifically is a hard one to fill with top tier talent. 

You might be able to find a very slight edge via trade. Maybe. But certainly not in free agency. Prime Ja is not walking through that door.  

Maybe Nixon shouldn’t be Green Bay’s unquestioned top corner. Maybe Cisse proves he’s better. Maybe St-Juste surprises us (unlikely-ish). But Nixon is a serviceable starting corner on an NFL roster, and the Packers are going to need him. He’ll play outside. He’ll move around. He’ll contribute on special teams. He’ll probably play a whole lot more football than a certain subset of Packers fans may prefer.

And I think that’s okay.

Nobody is pretending Nixon is a shutdown corner. But having a serviceable starting corner in a league where every team is making roster compromises, isn’t the worst place to be. And if you think it is, wait until our depth is tested at some point this season. 

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