5 burning questions facing the Carolina Panthers secondary in 2021
By Dean Jones
What do the Carolina Panthers have in Jaycee Horn?
The hype train is rolling where Jaycee Horn is concerned. There’s absolutely no doubt about that.
Whether that can turn into consistent coverage when it matters most is another matter.
Horn wasted no time in settling with the Carolina Panthers after he was the first defensive player taken in the 2021 NFL Draft. The South Carolina product is fast, has exceptional length, and provides something far different from what the team has been able to utilize in recent years.
There is a swagger about Horn that is hard not to love. He arrives at the next level having shut down some of the best college football has to offer and although things will be more difficult in the pros, hitting the ground running is not out of the question by any stretch.
It’s with remembering just how big the leap is between the collegiate level and the NFL for first-year cornerbacks. Every mistake or even the slightest hesitation gets severely punished, which Horn will be all-too-aware of.
He is the son of a former Pro Bowl wide receiver, after all.
The Panthers think they have something special in Horn. Just what exactly that is won’t be determined until we see him out on the field in a regular-season environment.
But make no mistake, the ceiling could not be higher.