South Carolina gave the Seattle Seahawks one elite prospect recently when the team chose defensive back Nick Emmanwori in 2025. He turned out to be really good as a rookie. General manager John Schneider is looking at another Gamecock in 2026 in the person of cornerback Brandon Cisse.
That is, according to ESPN draft expert Jordan Reid, who tweeted on Wednesday that Seattle is hosting Cisse on a 30 visit. There is zero surprise to this news for quite a few reasons.
One is that the team needs a pure cornerback who can replace Riq Woolen. He left in free agency and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. To be sure, Woolen was a mercurial player who didn't like to set a hard edge against the run much of the time, and while he offered great coverage at times, he was also prone to giving up big plays.
Seattle Seahawks will visit with South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse ahead of the 2026 draft
Entering Week 1 of the 2026 season, should the Seahawks go with only two cornerbacks on the first play, those would be Josh Jobe and Devon Witherspoon. Much of the time, however, the team would likely need three corners on the field, and that group seemingly lacks depth at this point.
This is why visiting with Brandon Cisse on one of the team's 30 visits it can have with prospective picks ahead of April's draft might be so telling. While there is some concern about the 6-feet and 190-pound corner's coverage ability, the rest of his game is quite promising. That is especially true of his run support, something a corner must be able to do in Mike Macdonald's system.
Throughout his college career (two years at North Carolina State and one at South Carolina), Cisse was excellent at helping stop the run. He had 13 run stuffs in each of the past two years.
What would be concerning for Seahawks fans is how many yards Brandon Cisse could give up per catch. He allowed 20.1 yards per reception on 18 catches in 2025, a fairly horrible number in college. He only gave up three touchdown passes in his college career, however.
He doesn't force many turnovers, however. He only had two interceptions and no forced fumbles. Like any smart defensive coach, Macdonald likes his defensive backs to create turnovers. Perhaps Cisse can do a better job of that in the NFL, but that is a risky approach.
What might help Cisse the most is that the Seattle Seahawks were real winners by moving up in the second round of the 2025 draft to take Nick Emmanwori. South Carolina coaches had the safety ready to play at the next level. John Schneider might trust that the same situation will unfold with Cisse.