GREEN BAY – The workday was barely underway for Evan Williams and Brandon Cisse when their phones lit up Thursday morning with text messages from Matt LaFleur.
The Packers head coach wanted to be the first to congratulate his defensive backs on winning two major monthly awards – Williams taking home NFC Defensive Player of the Month and Cisse capturing NFL Defensive Rookie of October.
Cisse is the first Packers player to win the rookie award since Edgerrin Cooper was honored in December 2024 while Williams' win marks the third straight October that a Packers player has won NFC Defensive Player of Month after Micah Parsons and Xavier McKinney did it each of the last two years.
A quick glance at the statistics tells you why.
In five October starts, Cisse recorded 21 tackles (two for a loss) with seven passes defensed, an interception and a sack. Over that stretch, Williams added 41 tackles, four passes defensed, three quarterback hits, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a sack.
"It's definitely a blessing, man, to even be considered for something like that," said Williams of his award. "I just try to come out every day, put my best foot forward, do the little things right every day, but I feel like it's really more of a group award than anything. We say when we're all succeeding that's when individuals start to see success."
Success is piling up for a defense surging under new coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Entering a key matchup with New England on Sunday, Green Bay ranks inside the top 10 in takeaways (second), passing defense (eighth), scoring defense (10th) and total defense (10th).
That's despite the All-Pro edge rusher Parsons missing the first eight games as he recovers from knee surgery and losing Cooper to a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 4.
As Gannon devises new ways to attack opponents, he's placed more responsibility on a deep and diverse secondary and the unit has responded in a big way.
Enter Williams, who has taken his game to the next level after leading Green Bay with three interceptions last year. In eight starts, the 25-year-old safety already has racked up six passes defensed, two interceptions and his first career sack.
Williams also leads Green Bay's defense with 66 combined tackles while his 43 solo tackles are second-most in the league, trialing only Denver linebacker Alex Singleton's 49.
"I'm just so happy for a guy like him, just a great teammate, even better person," said Cisse of Williams. "For him to go win the award, I feel like nobody deserves it more and I'm pretty sure he feels the same way. … No better person deserves that award than Evan Williams."
While Williams was expected to have a significant role on defense, Cisse has been a key addition to the cornerback room since being drafted in the second round back in April.
The 6-foot, 189-pound cornerback has started all eight games opposite Keisean Nixon, playing 91% of the defensive snaps at just 21 years old. He's had difficult assignments more often than not, too, covering the likes of Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Cisse hasn't backed down and leads Green Bay's secondary with eight pass breakups. He's also notched 1½ sacks and last month caught his first NFL interception off Dak Prescott.
"He's somebody that is so intentional every time he's on the practice field and just has a certain poise about him, which isn't typical for a 21-year-old," said Williams of Cisse. "He's never rattled, never shaken, always knows exactly where he needs to be and obviously knows where to put himself to make some plays."
Cisse may not look like a 21-year-old on the field, but there was a time earlier this year when he felt like it. Born and raised in South Carolina, Cisse wondered how he would acclimate to the Packers' locker room and ostensibly the city of Green Bay.
It's been a perfect fit, and the rookie second-round pick credits the teammates around him for helping him get comfortable.
"They've made my job coming here a lot easier than I expected it to be," Cisse said. "Even coming here, just making it feel like home. I've been kind of in South Carolina my whole life and coming to Green Bay, I was a little worried. I've been in the Carolinas too long. How was I going to be able to adapt away from home? But those guys have made me a lot better and picked me up even when I'm down."
Although the recognition is appreciated, both Williams and Cisse are more focused on the two months of regular-season football ahead of them than the two now behind.
This Sunday, the Packers' defense faces once of its toughest tests of the season in Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who was honored as AFC Offensive Player of the Month on Thursday.
An MVP finalist a year ago, Maye has rebounded from a slow start to lead New England to victory in four of its last five games. He fashioned a 119.0 passer rating in October after completing 67.2% of his passes for 1,199 yards, 12 TDs and two INTs.
"It's not a surprise that he's getting honored with that award as well," Williams said. "Excited for the challenge. Anytime you get to go against premier quarterbacks, premier pass catchers it's a great opportunity to show what we're about."
