3 silver linings from the Carolina Panthers 2021 season

Carolina Panthers have Jaycee Horn

Even though Jaycee Horn‘s 2021 season ended early thanks to a devastating injury in their Week 3 matchup at the Houston Texans, the rookie cornerback still showed bright spots very early on in the campaign. In those three games, he got an interception against Jameis Winston in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints and conceded a completion percentage of just 28.6.

For many, people are looking for him to be one of the best corners in the league in the coming years with the explosiveness of a 4.37-second 40-yard dash time and the size of being 6-foot-1. Having seen peeks of that during Horn’s lone three contests, it gave a lot of fans hope that the Carolina Panthers can have a lockdown presence in the secondary that’s been sorely lacking.

With that broken foot injury mentioned, Horn was placed on injured/reserved in late September but returned back to practice right before Thanksgiving, albeit in an extremely limited capacity. This was the right call to make where the Panthers are concerned and with little to play for down the stretch, taking extra precautions with the South Carolina product might just benefit them in the long run.

With that being said, Horn will be needed if the Panthers want to have a bounce-back season in 2022.

The defense showed so much promise in the secondary when the first-year-pro was in the lineup alongside a very solid Donte Jackson. With Horn’s return, the cornerback unit can turn into one of the best cores anywhere in the NFL.