With news of potentially another worrying non-contact foot injury for Jaycee Horn, the spotlight shines on who the Carolina Panthers could have picked instead.
In typical Carolina Panthers fashion, things were going too well. After an offseason filled with real promise, fans were hit with potentially worrying news on Thursday morning when the team announced that star cornerback Jaycee Horn would miss the remainder of OTAs and the upcoming mandatory minicamp with a foot injury sustained during a personal workout.
For a team with serious questions surrounding its cornerback room, seeing any news about an injury to their best option is enough to garner concern among fans. It’s important to note that Panthers expect Horn to be fully healthy for the start of camp and no surgery is required. However, a second non-contact foot injury only adds to the health problems through his first two years in the league.
There’s no doubt Horn is a top-10 player in his position when healthy, as shown in 2022. The Panthers’ road win against the Seattle Seahawks comes to mind when he did a number on star wide receiver D.K. Metcalf.
Even so, injuries have plagued the former No. 8 overall pick. After his rookie season was prematurely ended by a broken foot in Week 3, Horn missed time in 2022 with both rib and wrist ailments.
It’s fair to say that if Carolina had Horn on the field in Week 17 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they were likely a playoff team under Steve Wilks. Now the injury in isolation is no real issue as he is expected to miss little time, but this came just a week after pushing back on the notion he was injury prone when speaking to Joe Person of The Athletic.
It’s too early to fully question the Horn selection in 2021 as the player has shown elite qualities when on the field. The questions will start to be asked louder if he continues to miss time, especially with non-contact injuries.
With that in mind, let’s cast our eyes back to 2021 and look at five players the Panthers could have selected instead of Horn at No. 1 overall.
Carolina Panthers could have drafted Patrick Surtain II
In what was a tossup between the top two cornerback prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers opted for Jaycee Horn instead of a fellow SEC player in Patrick Surtain II.
Surtain was coming off a stellar career at Alabama which culminated in the Florida native winning a national championship in 2020 along with First Team All-SEC honors, being named a unanimous All-American, and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. This may have made it somewhat of a surprise when the Panthers chose Horn.
It’s fair to say since being drafted Horn has shown to be just as talented as Surtain. The only thing separating the pair is availability.
In two seasons Horn has featured in just 16 of 34 games - whereas Surtain has played in 33 of 34 games missing just a single contest in his rookie year. That means something in terms of value and experience.
This is reflected in the accolades Surtain has achieved during his short time in the league. He was voted to the All-Rookie Team in 2021, which was followed by Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro honors in 2022.
It’s fair to say Horn and Surtain are both in the upper echelons at their position. But the availability of the player taken by the Denver Broncos at No. 9 overall might leave the Panthers with a sense of regret.
Carolina Panthers could have drafted Micah Parsons
The Carolina Panthers could arguably have the best edge rushing pair in the league had they decided to take Micah Parsons with the No. 8 overall pick two years ago. The former Penn State man has emerged as one of the most dominant pass rushers in the league.
This may have been a questionable pick at the time as the Panthers had acquired Haason Reddick to line up opposite Brian Burns. But with the veteran on just a one-year deal and potentially commanding a large contract the following offseason, it would have been feasible to take Parsons, ready to unleash him as a long-term presence flying off the edge.
With the Panthers struggling to find a starter opposite Burns for the second season, having someone with the star caliber of Parsons would have been a godsend. He has quickly developed into a menace when it comes to getting after the quarterback.
In just two seasons, Parsons has 149 tackles, 26.5 sacks, and six forced fumbles. It’s not surprising that he was named All-Rookie in 2021 along with Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors en route to NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. After 13.5 sacks in 2022, he was again voted to the Pro Bowl and named first-team All-Pro.
Again, Parsons has been healthy for his short NFL career, playing in 33 of 34 regular season games and all three of the Dallas Cowboys playoff games. The Panthers wouldn’t have had to worry about having a starting edge rusher for potentially the next 7-8 years had they gone with the dynamic prospect instead of Horn.
Carolina Panthers could have drafted Justin Fields
Before you all shout, I know the Carolina Panthers have Bryce Young now and I rate him as a better prospect than Justin Fields. However, for the sake of the topic at hand, it’s impossible to talk about the No. 8 overall pick without mentioning the former Ohio State star.
Anyone with common sense would have known when the Panthers traded for Sam Darnold and immediately picked up his fifth-year option the team would not be selecting a quarterback - whether that be Fields or Alabama’s Mac Jones. However, fans still tried to talk themselves into a future signal-caller being the pick.
After sitting behind Andy Dalton in 2021, Fields was the starter for 2022. Despite flashes, he was one of the league’s worst quarterbacks leading the Chicago Bears to just three wins and the No. 1 pick which they would subsequently trade to Carolina.
Some context is needed here. The Bears’ skill position players and offensive line were among the worst in the league - but that's not the case heading into 2023.
This is a big year for Fields. Having a competent offensive line and a true No. 1 in D.J. Moore will tell us if the player has the necessary skills to succeed in the league.
But what if the player would have joined the Panthers instead of Jaycee Horn?
The thought of a rookie Fields behind an offensive line containing the likes of Cam Erving and John Miller being coached by Matt Rhule is true nightmare fuel. It’s likely the player would have looked worse than he has in Chicago.
Behind the Panthers’ revamped offensive line in 2022 - which enabled Carolina to win seven games despite the quarterback carousel - may have allowed Fields to succeed.
But with the Panthers now hoping Young becomes the face of the franchise, any thought of what could have been with Fields might soon be a thing of the past.
Carolina Panthers could have drafted Rashawn Slater
If you needed any further indictment of the failings of Matt Rhule, his comments on first-round pick Rashawn Slater say it all. Before the 2022 season, the former head coach said on a Charlotte radio show they didn’t pick the former NorthWestern star because of questions on his size to play offensive tackle and not to use a selection that high on the offensive line interior.
We’d already seen Rhule's infatuation with size and arm length. His refusal to deploy Brady Christensen at his regular position in 2021 despite him being the best edge protector on the roster at the time was damning.
Now it’s no surprise that Rhule’s premeditations on Slater were incorrect, protecting the blindside of stud Justin Herbert, He was All-Rookie, voted to the Pro Bowl, and made second-team All-Pro after just one season, quashing the concerns raised by the Carolina Panthers.
Even if the Panthers only valued him as a guard, they had a real issue at the position in any case. John Miller, Dennis Daley, Michael Jordan, and Trent Scott were never up to the challenge, so Slater would have been a Day 1 starter with instant upside.
The fact Christensen made the switch from tackle to guard and immediately beat out Jordan tells you everything. While the Panthers have solved their left tackle issues after drafting Ikem Ekwonu in 2022, having a stud like Slater alongside him would have been an improvement.
Carolina Panthers could have drafted Devonta Smith
For a team currently lacking a clear No.1 wide receiver, how the Carolina Panthers would love someone like Devonta Smith on their roster currently.
Despite questions about his size, his production was off the charts at Alabama. Smith totaled 117 receptions for 1,856 receiving yards and a monstrous 23 touchdowns in his final college campaign as the Crimson Tide won a national title - becoming the first wideout to win the Heisman Trophy since 1991.
An Alabama player with fantastic college tape but is being questioned on his size. Sound familiar?
Despite those concerns, Smith has transferred his game seamlessly to the NFL. The player formed a prolific tandem with A.J. Brown, which saw Jalen Hurts' production surge as the Philadelphia Eagles reached the Super Bowl in 2022.
Playing in all 34 regular season games, Smith was a key part of the team's NFC championship triumph, topping 1,000 receiving yards in just his second season. And while the Panthers had both D.J. Moore and Chosen Anderson, the latter's sharp decline could have paved the way for a pick such as this instead of Jaycee Horn in hindsight.
With both Moore and Anderson now out of Carolina, Smith could have been the Panthers’ clear WR1 heading into 2023 and the perfect target to pair with Bryce Young. Instead, they are banking on Terrace Marshall Jr. finally showing the growth expected and D.J. Chark staying healthy.