Jaycee Horn

Horn's unlikely to overtake Caleb Farley or Patrick Surtain in this class, but that doesn't mean that he can't contribute in a big way for a NFL defense. Horn's a long and strong defender that is sticky in man coverage. He tends to get a little too active with his hands, which can lead to penalties, but he's constantly making plays on the ball. Needs to work on flipping his hips and his flexibility, which could cause some issues when facing smaller and shiftier receivers. However, he's strong enough and quick enough to stay with bigger receivers. Followed Seth Williams everywhere against Auburn and shut him down. Very few examples of zone coverage, but shows active eyes and then works well to close in on the ball. Decent change of direction ability. As mentioned before, he'll need to work on flipping his hips and maintaining a low center of gravity before the receiver declares his break, but there are ways to compensate for that from a scheme perspective. Tremendous ball skills. Constantly making plays and breaking up passes. Smooth hands and able to reel in errant passes too. Physical and willing to engage in run support. Needs to improve on wrapping up, but the willingness is there. Good speed. Not tremendous or top of the class, but certainly more than enough to succeed in the NFL. Decent flexibility, but as mentioned earlier, needs to work on this area of his game. Horn's a solid corner prospect that should succeed in a Cover 3 scheme or one that will ask him to play off-man press quite a bit. He could struggle against smaller and shiftier receivers in the NFL, but he'll be able to stand in with the bigger and tougher receivers that opposing offenses have to offer. Needs to improve on a few things, but if he does, he could turn into a very solid CB1 for a NFL defense.

Jaycee Horn signs four-year rookie deal with Carolina Panthers

Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Panthers have signed rookie CB Jaycee Horn to a four-year, $21.1M contract.

Fantasy Impact

Horn was the first defensive player drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft, being picked eight overall by the Panthers in the first round. The rookie CB gets a four-year deal with $21.1M guaranteed with a $12.7M signing bonus. Horn is expected to start immediately for the Panthers in a secondary that includes Donte Jackson and A.J. Bouye. Horn played in South Carolina facing some of the toughest WR's in the nation and earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2020. Carolina will hope Horn can fill the CB void left by James Bradberry who left in free agency in 2020.