No. 16

The Green Bay Packers were arguably the most disappointing team in football last year. And perhaps no one did less with more than Packers’ coach Matt LaFleur.

Green Bay headed into the 2025 season with one of the NFL’s top rosters, then traded for star defensive end Micah Parsons 10 days before the year began. Suddenly, Packer Nation was dreaming of their first Super Bowl appearance since 2010.

Instead, Green Bay went a remarkably unsatisfying 9-8-1 overall and was the NFC’s No. 7 seed for a third consecutive year. The Packers then blew a 21-3 halftime lead in the Wild Card round against Chicago, gave up 25 fourth quarter points and eventually suffered a shocking 31-27 loss to the arch-rival Bears.

“No way you should lose games in this league when you’re up that much,” running back Josh Jacobs said.

Green Bay, which began the year 9-3-1, finished the season with five straight losses. The Packers now enter 2026 with the league’s fourth-longest losing streak.

Collapsing late in games was the story of Green Bay’s 2025 campaign.

Green Bay had double digit leads in the final minutes twice against Chicago and also vs. Cleveland and somehow went 0-3 in those games. The Packers’ odds of losing all three contests were 1-in-250,000, yet they somehow did it.

“That (expletive), it’s starting to get damn-near embarrassing,” safety Javon Bullard said.

Rebounding won’t be easy as the Packers were hit hard in free agency and didn’t have a first round draft pick.

Green Bay’s first training camp practice is July 29. Between now and then I will count down the ‘30 Most Important Packers’ heading into the 2026 campaign.

At No. 16 is cornerback Keisean Nixon.

Keisean Nixon, CB

Last season

Nixon started all 17 games at cornerback for the first time in his career and had a remarkably up-and-down season.

Nixon earned a 66.4 overall defensive grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 41st among 114 qualified cornerbacks. His PFF coverage grade of 67.8 ranked 35th and his run-defense grade of 66.6 ranked 40^th.

Nixon had one interception, broke up 13 passes, and opposing quarterbacks had a 105.2 passer rating when throwing his way. Nixon surrendered 50 receptions in coverage and had 72 tackles (58 solos).

The two regular season games against Chicago provided a microcosm of Nixon’s inconsistent season.

Nixon made a game-saving interception in the Packers’ 28-21 win over Chicago on Dec. 7. Thirteen days later, Nixon gave up a 46-yard touchdown pass to Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore in overtime as Chicago rallied for a 22-16 win.

Career to date

Nixon spent the first three years of his career with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders, where he was a reserve corner and averaged just 14.0 yards on his six kickoff returns.

Nixon came to Green Bay in 2022, but he didn’t get a chance to begin returning kicks until Week 6 of that season when the Packers finally gave up on former third round draft choice Amari Rodgers. Nixon then made the most of his opportunities, ranking first in the league with an average of 28.8 yards per return. Nixon also led the league in kickoff returns of 50-plus yards (five) and 30-plus yards (11), and had a league-leading 1,009 yards on kickoff returns.

Nixon became the Packers’ slot corner in 2023, but allowed completions on a whopping 78.7% of passes thrown his way. Opposing quarterbacks also had a passer rating of 101.1 with Nixon in coverage, and he finished with the same number of penalties (five) as passes defensed.

Nixon did have another big season as a returner in 2023, when he led the NFL with 782 yards on kickoff returns — 271 more than runner-up Xavier Gipson of the New York Jets. Nixon also led all qualified kickoff returners with a 26.1-yard average.

That helped Nixon become just the fourth player to earn first-team All-Pro honors from The Associated Press at kick returner in back-to-back years (2022-23), joining Mel Gray (1990-91), Devin Hester (2006-07) and Cordarrelle Patterson (2019-20).

“I’m one of a kind,” Nixon said after receiving the honors.

In 2024, Nixon played all 17 games and made 15 starts, posting career-highs in tackles (88), tackles for loss (eight) and sacks (three). He also had a team-leading three forced fumbles and posted career bests in quarterback hits (six) and passes defensed (seven).

Nixon played 74.7% of the snaps in Weeks 1-3 as Green Bay’s primary nickel back. But when Eric Stokes struggled outside, and Jaire Alexander broke down physically, Nixon moved outside and performed well. In fact, in 11 of the Packers’ final 14 games, Nixon played at least 97% of the snaps.

Nixon’s overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 2024 was 64.5, which ranked 87^th out of 222 corners in the NFL. His best work came when rushing the passer, where his 92.7 grade ranked fourth.

Nixon also averaged 29.3 yards on his 18 kickoff returns and 12.0 yards on his four punt returns. After the 2024 campaign ended though, Nixon said he no longer wanted to be a return man.

“CB1 is not doing kick returns,” Nixon said. “That’s just what it is.”

Outlook

Nixon plays with the swagger of Deion Sanders, even when his game doesn’t back it up.

Nixon proclaimed himself “CB1” before the 2025 campaign began, and had an OK season. But Nixon far from a No. 1 cornerback.

The problem is he’s probably the best Green Bay has.

Nixon is entering the final season of a team friendly, three-year, $18 million contract he signed in March, 2024. Nixon would love a new deal before the 2026 campaign begins, but it’s unlikely the Packers will give him a raise.

“Yeah I wouldn’t talk publicly about that, but they all ask for raises, not just players,” Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “I thought he played very well for us and he’s a guy we like having on our team. He brings a competitive edge to us, but all those contract things we’ll keep in house.”

They said it …

“I went from being a kick returner to the nickel to just nickel to corner. I just feel like I keep trying upgrade. Every upgrade is different scenario. And just playing football, honing on my technique and my rules and stuff like that. Playing corner I don’t have to play anything inside-outside. I only play corner, so now I can focus on all the techniques and how can I get better at just that position. I don’t got to worry about kick return. I don’t got to worry about nickel, like I’m just playing corner.” — Nixon on his road to becoming a starting corner

“Keisean had a very, very good year. I think he was in the top three in PBUs and did some really good things.” — Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst on Nixon

“Little scrappy (expletive). Like he’s so scrappy. He’s not to be played with, bro. He’s small in size, but he’s like a pitbull. He’s scrappy on the outside. He knows when to turn it on. He always finds a way and he’s incredibly smart. I don’t think people give him his credit. I think people give him a lot of (expletive), but … I think people should give him more grace than what’s been given to him.” — Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons on Nixon