Cornerback may not seem like the biggest need Atlanta has, and it’s not. They have AJ Terrell, CJ Henderson, and Mike Hughes, all of whom did a fine job in 2025. Their top need is wide receiver, but it’s tough to find a playmaker at pick 48, so they take a player they feel is the best one on the board, and that is South Carolina defensive back Brandon Cisse.

The true junior had five passes defended and an interception at NC State before transferring to the Gamecocks in 2025. He duplicated the totals from his freshman and sophomore seasons in his one year in Columbia. He has decent size (6’0 and 190 pounds) and great athleticism (4.35 forty, 41″ vertical). Cisse has all the attributes that defensive coordinators covet, and should find time as a rotational player to start.

Cisse uses his elite athleticism to mirror receivers’ every move in coverage, and has the strength to jam them at the line of scrimmage and disrupt the timing of any offense. He will need to get better at zone coverage and be less reluctant to bite on double moves if he wants to have a long career in the NFL.