Brandon Cisse wins NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month
The Packers cornerback earned October’s award after recording 21 tackles, seven pass breakups, an interception and a sack across five games.
Green Bay Packers cornerback Brandon Cisse was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for October on November 5, 2026, after a five-game stretch in which Green Bay went 4-1. Cisse recorded 21 tackles, two tackles for loss, seven passes defensed, an interception and a sack during the month, the Packers and NBC Sports reported.
Cisse’s October production
The award recognized a month in which Cisse combined tackles with plays on the ball. Packers Wire, citing the NFL, reported that his seven pass breakups led all rookies and that he was the only rookie defensive back with at least 20 tackles and an interception in October. He defensed at least one pass in four of the five games, Packers Wire reported.
Cisse had at least two pass breakups in each of his final three October games, the Packers said. That made him the first Packers defender with multiple pass breakups in three consecutive games since cornerback Jaire Alexander in 2019. The sequence came alongside two firsts in Cisse’s career: his first interception, against Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott in Week 6, and his first full sack, against the Chicago Bears the previous week.
Packers Wire attributed additional coverage figures to Pro Football Focus. In October, Cisse allowed 144 receiving yards and no touchdowns on 24 targets across 203 coverage snaps. The longest completion against him was 18 yards, and opposing quarterbacks had a 58.1 passer rating when targeting him. Those figures offer another view of his month beyond the tackles and takeaways in the award statistics.
How the award fits his season
NBC Sports reported that Cisse had 34 tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, eight passes defensed and one interception through eight games. Those season totals extend beyond October’s five-game award period, while the October figures account for seven of his eight passes defensed and the interception.
The award also places Cisse among a small group of Packers defenders recognized for monthly performance. The Packers said he was the first Green Bay player to win the Defensive Rookie of the Month award since linebacker Edgerrin Cooper in the final month of 2024. Packers Wire identifies Cisse as the third Packers cornerback to receive a monthly defensive player award, after Casey Hayward for October 2012 and Damarious Randall for November 2015.
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Sources and context
- Packers CB Brandon Cisse named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for OctoberPackers Wire, republished by Yahoo Sports
- Packers CB Brandon Cisse named NFL Defensive Rookie of the MonthGreen Bay Packers
- Brandon Cisse named defensive rookie of the month for OctoberNBC Sports
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.