Paul Bretl | 8/21/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Keisean Nixon has made it clear since the 2024 season ended–he wants to play outside cornerback.
One of the superpowers that this Packers’ secondary possesses is the versatility of this unit, which is often on display in practices. Jeff Hafley has disguised coverages and thrown a variety of looks at the Green Bay offense.
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Early on, we saw Nate Hobbs playing both outside and in the slot. When Hobbs was inside, Carrington Valentine came on the field. When Hobbs was outside, Javon Bullard was at the nickel.
However, one of the constants has been Nixon lined up at outside cornerback.
“I just never let anybody put me in a box,” Nixon said at his locker on Tuesday. “My confidence and my skill level has always been there. I just had to find a role to just get to where I want to go.
“Everything they’ve ever asked me to do I’ve always did it at a high level. That’s just what it was. I’ve always been good at everything I do. That just comes with what God gave me. Now I got the perfect way to show it on the biggest stage this year.”
A year ago at this time, Nixon was the Packers’ nickel cornerback and, along with return man, that was the primary role he filled. But due to injuries at cornerback and Hafley wanting Bullard closer to the line of scrimmage, Nixon moved outside in Week 4, and that ended up being where the majority of his snaps last season came.
Being able to move between the two positions–and sometimes within the same game–speaks to Nixon’s versatility. But with any new position, there can be a learning curve to navigate. As Nixon got more reps, he became more comfortable with his technique and noted that around Thanksgiving, in a matchup against Tyreek Hill, is when his confidence really started to take off.
“He’s competitive,” Hafley said of Nixon. “He can play man coverage, which is important. You have to be able to play man to be on the outside. Because he can run, he can cover, he can change direction, and I like that he’ll tackle.
“He’s a physical guy. Teams are going to try to get your corners 1-on-1 and force them to tackle. And he’s going ot do that. So those are the things I believe he can do and he did.”
While the nickel and outside positions fall under the cornerback umbrella, there are major differences when it comes to lining up at either spot. As Nixon described, things happen a lot more quickly from the nickel.
On the outside, while the cornerback is often going to be on an island, there is more time to react.
Nixon’s offseason work this year, compared to others, didn’t really change, knowing that he would be playing outside corner instead of the nickel. Rather, the reps he’s now banked at the position over the last 10 months have him comfortable in what’s being asked of him, and the game has slowed down.
“In reality, it don’t really switch up, because even when I was playing nickel, most top guys go inside-outside, so I’ve always seen the best players on each team,” Nixon said of his offseason. “I just really hone in on my technique, and my confidence level is just through the roof right now. It doesn’t really matter who’s going to be out there. They’re going to have to see me just like I’ve got to see them.”
To help further his growth and development at outside cornerback, Nixon regularly watches film of the receivers who are on the Packers’ schedule well in advance of when the matchup will take place. He also studies other cornerbacks around the NFL, specifically Denzel Ward and Marshon Lattimore, because of their man coverage and press man coverage abilities.
Since arriving in Green Bay as a free agent, Nixon’s role has continued to evolve from being a flier on the punt coverage team to a return man to starting at the nickel to now being an outside cornerback. And whatever the Packers have asked of him, he’s found success and views playing outside cornerback no differently.
“It’s been a marathon, never been a sprint. Just working every day, just keeping my head down and just being consistent,” Nixon said of his NFL journey. “I didn’t let anybody ever put me in a box in my career. That really helped me because I know confidently in myself and what I can do, and I can do it with the best of them.”