The Carolina Panthers placed a big bet on Jaycee Horn building on his superb 2024 campaign. One NFL analyst believes his recent contract extension represents a massive overpay with an asinine reason attached.
Horn silenced his doubters last season. There were concerns about his injury history after featuring just 22 times over his first three years. One offseason shift in approach later, everything went much better for the prolific cornerback.
Carolina's defense was nothing short of woeful overall. Horn was the biggest exception, shutting down one side of the field and becoming an increasing influence against the run. More importantly, he featured 15 times with much better fortune on the health front.
This was all the Panthers needed to see. Morgan outlined his desire to get Horn tied down long-term heading into the final year of his rookie deal. He was a man of his word, making the former first-round pick the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history with a megabucks extension.
That didn't last long thanks to Derek Stingley Jr.'s new deal, but it reaffirmed the Panthers' faith in Horn. The news was met with widespread approval among the fanbase. That wasn't an opinion shared by Brad Gagnon from The Bleacher Report, who blasted the extension as a huge overpay on Carolina's behalf.
Carolina Panthers blasted for Jaycee Horn extension with one bizarre reason attached
The analyst made no secret about his disdain for Horn's four-year, $100 million contract with a $28.4 million signing bonus and $72 million guaranteed. Bizarrely, he labeled the player's lack of interceptions over the last two seasons as the biggest reason behind the criticism.
"For a short time, [Jaycee] Horn was the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. It's ridiculous that a player who has one interception the last two seasons and surrendered six touchdowns in coverage in 2024 is now making $25 million per year."Brad Gagnon
Talk about box-score watching.
It's easy to debunk this theory. Horn only played 21 games in two years. He's given up just 53.7 percent of passes throughout his career and a measly 78.1 passer rating when targeted. If opposing quarterbacks have the chance to not look in his direction, they always do.
Horn is the definition of a shutdown cornerback. There is nothing flashy about his play. He just locks down one side of the field regardless of who's lined up opposite. If defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero had enough trust in others to let him shadow the primary receiving threat, his performances would have stood out even more.
The South Carolina graduate flourished as a leader and earned his first Pro Bowl. Horn made the Pro Bowl despite being part of a defense that conceded the most single-season points in NFL history. Think about that for a second…
Maybe the analyst should have watched more of Horn before making this sort of judgment. He's an elite player and one of the few cornerstone pieces Carolina has. Morgan was right to pay him accordingly.
Looking at the way contracts are going and the cornerbacks that are due to get paid sooner rather than later, this deal is going to look pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things if Horn continues his outstanding performance levels in the coming years.
Interceptions are nice. But they pale into insignificance compared to Horn's overall influence on and off the field.