5 shining stars from the Carolina Panthers 2021 offseason
By Dean Jones
Jaycee Horn – Carolina Panthers CB
It didn’t take long for Jaycee Horn to impose himself on the Carolina Panthers.
The No. 8 overall selection has a substantial amount of pressure on his young shoulders through no real fault of his own. This comes, of course, after the team opted to pass up the chance of selecting Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields in favor of the cornerback.
This is something Horn is fully aware of. He comes from good stock being the son of former Pro Bowl wide receiver Joe Horn, who has moved to the Charlotte area to keep a close eye on his offspring and provide a support system that should serve the rookie well.
Horn has certainly looked the part during drills at training camp and his limited time on the field in warmup games. Tempering expectations initially would be the smart way to go considering it’s normally a baptism of fire for rookie players at the position against the truly elite, but the South Carolina product is keen to take the challenge head-on.
The term alpha gets thrown around a lot in today’s NFL. Perhaps too much.
However, it might be fitting where Horn is concerned.
He has the swagger and unrivaled confidence. Horn’s also displayed an aggressive approach this offseason that’s sometimes threatened to boil over into something more.
If he can harness this in the right way, then Horn is more than capable of mounting a Defensive Rookie of the Year challenge in 2021.