Paul Bretl | 6/9/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis.– If the Packers decide that Keisean Nixon continuing to return kickoffs is what’s best for the team, then he will continue to do that. “I’m always going to do what the team needs,” said Nixon after last Tuesday’s OTA practice.
However, after emerging last season as one of the defense’s top outside cornerback options, that is where Nixon wants to continue to prove that he can make the greatest impact on this Packers’ team.
“I’m here to work and show I am who I am and what I can do outside,” Nixon said. “I showed that last year and just complete my resume. Everything they’ve asked me to do, I did it at a high level whether it was just play kick return – I went All-Pro in that. I played nickel. I got paid at that. I’m here to play corner. That’s just what I want to do.”
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Nixon was the Packers’ starting nickel cornerback during the 2023 season. While he took some reps lined up outside during last summer, the nickel, again, was Nixon’s primary position throughout last offseason and through the first three games of the 2024 season.
But with injuries at the cornerback position and Jeff Hafley wanting to get Javon Bullard closer to the line of scrimmage, the Packers needed help outside, which led to Nixon seeing his first extensive playing time on the boundary in Week 4. From there, Nixon’s playing time outside increased into a full-time role.
When the Packers were facing injuries in the secondary, we saw Nixon back at the nickel for some games here and there, but for much of last season, he was one of their starting outside cornerbacks.
On the year, Nixon allowed a completion rate of 66% on 86 targets and held opponents to just 9.3 yards per catch with six pass breakups and an interception. Among cornerbacks who played at least 375 coverage snaps, only six had a lower yards per catch allowed than Nixon.
“Not really learn nothing about myself,” said Nixon. “I always knew what I was capable of doing. I just needed the opps to do it. Just me showing I am the type of player I say I am and show it on the field. I proved last year I can play inside/outside consistently against whoever’s the type guy on the other team.
“The confidence level for me is through the roof. Coach DA and Haf have put all the confidence in me to go out there and compete and show that I am who I am. Me knowing myself, I just know what God gave me, and I’m blessed to have that.”
As Hafley described last season, Nixon brings a level of physicality to the Packers’ cornerback spot and an aggressiveness to the run game from that position. As the season progressed and Nixon continued to get more reps outside, Hafley also noted how he continued to improve in man coverage situations.
Moving from the nickel to outside cornerback on the fly last season speaks to Nixon’s versatility. While both of those positions are considered cornerbacks, they are very different from one another. From the slot, the fight comes to you a lot more quickly, and there is less time to react, while on the outside, that player his often on an island.
This offseason, however, unlike the last two where Nixon was preparing to line up in the nickel, he’s been able to devote his time to the outside cornerback position, preparing specifically for that role.
“I think it hit my goals on a different level,” Nixon said. “At first I came into play nickel when I got here and then they moved me outside and I got comfortable. That’s what I came in the league as. I’ve never played nickel until I got to the Packers. I probably played like a game or two with the Raiders. Just honing on the technique of corner, that’s what I want to do.”
Through the two OTA practices that have been open to the media, Nixon has been a mainstay at the outside cornerback position, while we’ve seen Nate Hobbs play both outside and in the nickel, with Valentine coming off the bench.
With the recent news that the Packers are moving on from Jaire Alexander, the cornerback depth chart becomes much clearer, and at the top of it at the outside position is Nixon, continuing to prove that’s where he belongs.
“To his credit, he’s shown a lot of versatility, in terms of how we’ve used him in the past, being switching him from inside to outside,” said Matt LaFleur of Nixon. “So, I think he did a lot of great things last year, primarily playing on the outside.”