South Carolina football alum accomplishes something no one in NFL was able to do last season
On Thursday night, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Washington Commanders, 27-18. In a contest that featured former South Carolina standouts on either side (Keisean Nixon and Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare for Green Bay and Deebo Samuel, Javon Kinlaw, and Darius Rush for Washington), the Packers emerged victorious thanks to their pass defense.
For the game, Green Bay logged four sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and eight passes defended. Of those eight pass breakups, Nixon had five of them.
Per Pro Football Reference, that was the first time since 2023 that a single player knocked away five passes in one game. Nixon also had a pair of tackles on the day and allowed just one reception for nine yards. According to PFF (Pro Football Focus), he registered a 90.4 overall grade and 90.6 coverage grade.
His efforts earned recognition across the league. Former Pro Bowl corner Richard Sherman called Nixon a lockdown corner and said he was “off to a Pro Bowl start” to his 2025 campaign. Packers writer Eli Berkowitz called Nixon’s performance “one of the best” he’s ever seen from a cornerback. PFF’s Trevor Sikkema even compared the former Gamecock to Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis.
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Nixon, who is a two-time All-Pro as a return man, is off to a fast start this fall at cornerback. He has the fourth-best overall PFF grade and fourth-best coverage PFF grade among NFL corners. His Packers are 2-0, as well.
During his South Carolina football career, Nixon played in a secondary that rotated a lot of guys. In 2017, he snagged a pair of interceptions, including one against the rival Clemson Tigers. In 2018, as a primary starter, he was fourth on the team in tackles (68) and led the Gamecocks in passes defended (nine). Nixon played in the East-West Shrine Bowl postseason all-star game but was snubbed from the 2019 NFL Draft.
Nixon spent three seasons with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders before joining the Packers. Now in year seven as a pro, he is in his fourth season with the Packers.