Jaycee Horn proved his worth as one of the league's premier shutdown cornerbacks in 2024. That's not an opinion shared by everybody.
The Carolina Panthers rewarded Horn with a lucrative contract extension ahead of time this offseason. He removed the injury stigma last season en route to a much-improved campaign. The player's talent was never in question. Staying healthy became an ongoing frustration, but everyone's mind should be at ease now.
Horn went from a promising, injury-prone player to a franchise cornerstone capable of spearheading a prosperous new era in Carolina. He was the NFL's highest-paid cornerback briefly, but that didn't stop John Kosko of Pro Football Focus from placing him pretty far down the pecking order among his cornerback peers.
Carolina Panthers CB Jaycee Horn blasts analyst for contentious cornerback ranking
The analyst listed Horn at No. 25 in his league-wide cornerback rankings entering 2025. Kosko highlighted the player's average coverage grades as a primary reason behind his lowly ranking. He also mentioned the injury problems, even though they largely became a thing of the past last season.
"[Jaycee] Horn is talented but has struggled with injuries in the NFL. Despite being the league's second-highest-paid cornerback, Horn ranks only 23rd in PFF advanced coverage grade over the past three seasons and 23rd in standard PFF coverage grade (79.6) across the past two."John Kosko
Inevitably, this provoked a response from Horn on social media. The South Carolina graduate didn't hold back with a since-deleted post that criticized stat watching and analytics. But as is typically the case in the times we live in, the post was screenshotted quickly and showcased around the globe.
Horn was firing from the hip, likely enraged about having to scroll so far down the article before seeing his name. But if the defensive back wanted some added motivation heading into the new campaign, this should provide it and more.
Everyone who watches the Panthers closely knows how important Horn is to the team's vision. PFF might not have graded his coverage ability highly, but fans were suitably impressed. And what the analyst didn't take into account was how difficult Carolina's secondary had it thanks to a campaign capitulation from its defensive front.
Things look a lot more balanced now. That should help Ejiro Evero's unit bounce back from a historically bad campaign, and the bar isn't high for improvements. As for Horn? He's now being paid like an elite player. He must keep performing like one.
If he does, expect to see Horn much higher on lists like this next year.