Tag: Jaycee Horn

Panthers potential 2021 NFL draft targets: South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn

Panthers potential 2021 NFL draft target: South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn.

Despite the blunders against Minnesota this past week, the Panthers’ defense has been trending in the right direction. The pass rush is picking up, the run defense is steadily improving and Jermey Chinn is a serious defensive rookie of the year candidate. However, the cornerback group and the rest of the secondary has been extremely inconsistent.

In fact, since Josh Norman left, the Panthers have not had a true No. 1 corner they can rely on to match up with the NFC South’s physical receivers. Let’s take a look at a prospect who could change all that: South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn.

Profile:
6-foot-1, 205 pounds
Projected 40 yard dash: 4.45 seconds

Pros: Yes Panthers fans, Jaycee is the son of Saints legend Joe Horn. Hear me out on this though, because Jaycee is going to be one heck of a player. Horn is a tough, lanky, physical and athletically gifted DB. He is tremendous in press coverage, an alpha at the catch point and excellent in zone. Speed is not his strong suit, but Horn displays “good enough” wheels for the corner position. He has shown on film that he can shut down physical wide receivers, such as Auburn’s Seth Williams. Horn also displays great play strength in his tackling ability and with his hands at the catch point. He is the definition of a physical, ball-hawking, outside corner.

Cons: Horn is fine in man coverage but, because of his physical play style, he gets a bit grabby with his hands and occasionally draws pass interference flags because of it. He also is a bit stiff in the hips while flipping into his transition and has been burned before by speedsters such as Auburn’s Anthony Schwartz.

Overall, Horn projects really well to the NFL. He can make an immediate impact covering the league’s most physical receivers in zone-heavy schemes.

2020 Highlights:

How he compares:
Horn is definitely overshadowed in the cornerback group by Alabama’s Pat Surtain III and Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley. Horn seems to have established himself as CB3 in this year’s class, though. Farley and Surtain III are more well-rounded corners overall, but Horn is bigger and far more physical. At the end of the day, scheme fits and play style preference will be the determining factor as to how high Horn will go.

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Giants select CB Jaycee Horn in 2021 Draft Wire mock

In the latest 2021 mock draft from Draft Wire, the New York Giants select cornerback Jaycee Horn.

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Up until several weeks ago, the New York Giants were entrenched in the top 10 of just about every expert’s 2021 NFL mock draft. Since, they’ve won three straight and moved into first place in the NFC East, they are no longer in that neighborhood.

In Draft Wire’s latest mock, columnist Luke Easterling places the Giants at No. 19 in the first round and adds to their secondary, which has been the most volatile, but most productive unit on their roster this season.

19. New York Giants | South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn

James Bradberry was a huge win in free agency this offseason, but the Giants could still use an upgrade across the field from their top cover man,” writes Bradberry. “The son of former NFL wide receiver Joe Horn, Jaycee has been lights out so far this season, showing off a fantastic blend of ball skills and instincts to go with his ideal size and length.

No doubt the Giants could use some prime talent across the field from Bradberry, who along with safeties Jabrill Peppers and Logan Ryan have played at a Pro Bowl level, especially after losing DeAndre Baker and Sam Beal this year.

The Giants have been able to make do with Isaac Yiadom and Darnay Holmes at the corner as well as Ryan Lewis, but that won’t preclude them from continuing to bolster the secondary.

Horn (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) has opted out after seven games at South Carolina this season to concentrate on the NFL Draft. Horn was in the middle of a breakout year. Through seven games, he had recorded 16 tackles, two interceptions and six passes defensed.

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2021 NFL Draft: Bills deepen playmakers in 3-round bye week mock

Buffalo Bills 2021 NFL mock draft during their 2020 bye week.

The Buffalo Bills are looking forward to their next six games as they sit on their hands during the bye week.

Much, much beyond that the Bills will have the 2021 NFL Draft to look forward to. Of course, we’re very far away from that… the sun hasn’t even set on the regular season yet.

But again, it’s the bye week… so let’s have some fun. Our friends at Draft Wire recently released their latest three-round mock draft… and in this upcoming rookie extravaganza, Buffalo does have a first-round pick as well, unlike 2020.

So what do the Bills do in this recent mock? Address a couple of playmaker spots on both sides of the ball. Here’s who D/W’s Luke Easterling pegs for the Bills:

28. Jaycee Horn | CB | South Carolina

59. Chris Olave | WR | Ohio State

91. Victor Dimukeje | EDGE | Duke

In Horn, the Bills would add a big-framed defensive back at 6-foot-1 that has experience playing in a zone scheme like Buffalo runs. Olave has decent size for the wideout position at 6-foot, but he has a highly-praised route tree. Dimukeje had 8.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss in 2019.

Positionally, all three prospects are very interesting picks for the Bills. It can be argued at all three positions on the Bills’ current roster are deep… but a case can be made for each.

At cornerback, Levi Wallace, Cam Lewis and Josh Norman will add be free agents after the 2020 season. While Wallace has been a solid performer in his career, the Bills have continually brought in competition for him, perhaps indicating they want a longer-term solution at the No. 2 cornerback spot across from Tre’Davious White.

In the wide receiver room, the only pending free agents are Isaiah McKenzie and Andre Roberts, who’s mostly a kick returner. But if Buffalo did move on from the pair, that’d open up roster spot for a guy like Isaiah Hodgins, a current rookie who has been injury all season, and perhaps another fresh face like Olave.

Looking even further in the future, John Brown will be a free after the 2021 season while Cole Beasley sees his dead cap hit drop to $1.5 million. If the Bills wanted to get younger at the position at that time, they’d have the option to do so. Although, these two do clearly have plenty left in the tank at this time.

Dimukeje might actually be the most interesting selection considering Buffalo’s second-round investment in AJ Epenesa in 2020, however, Trent Murphy will be a free agent after 2020.

Regardless, this is all an exercise in fun for now and food for thought. Plenty of dust needs to settle before any of these guys can be pegged for Buffalo.

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South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn opts out, will declare for 2021 NFL draft

South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn is opting out of the rest of the 2020 college football season and will declare for the 2021 NFL draft

The wild and everchanging 2020 college football season continues, with another top prospect opting out and preparing early for the next level.

Not 24 hours after the South Carolina Gamecocks relieved Will Muschamp of his duties as head coach, another domino has fallen on the defensive side of the ball.

One of the top cornerback prospects in the 2021 NFL draft class, Jaycee Horn has opted out of the 2020 season.

South Carolina fell to 2-5 and 6th in the SEC East after their latest loss to Ole Miss.

The son of former NFL WR Joe Horn will now focus all of his energy on preparing for the upcoming NFL draft process. Horn could one of many SEC players to hear their name called on opening night of the three-day event.

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Cardinals 2021 NFL draft profile: South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn

One big name is a player that screams consistency and that is the 6-foot-1 and 205 pound cornerback Jaycee Horn from South Carolina. 

The Arizona Cardinals are coming off an impressive win against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football, ending Seattle’s undefeated streak. The Cardinals defense are now ranked 20th in the league and they have lost some key players due to injuries like Chandler Jones and Robert Alford. General manager Steve Keim has transformed the Cardinals from a team that last year sat in the bottom of the NFC West to a now playoff-contending team. However, they have allowed an average of 247.3 passing yards per game, according to ESPN. One of the biggest struggles on consistency for their Cardinals is the cornerback room. While Byron Murphy is still young and entering his second year, he certainly has room to grow. However, there have been some nice flashes including his big third-down sack against the Seahawks. The Cardinals also only have Dre Kirkpatrick on a one-year deal, so they will need another secondary playmaker for their future.
Looking ahead into the 2021 NFL draft, there are talented cornerbacks the Cardinals could potentially select in the first round. One big name is a player that screams consistency and that is the 6-foot-1 and 205-pound cornerback Jaycee Horn from South Carolina.
Jaycee Horn has been nothing short of impressive throughout his past two seasons as a Gamecock. Last season, he finished with 40 total tackles and a sack. Through five games this season, Horn has 13 total tackles and two interceptions. He does a nice job keeping balance throughout the play and possesses a great amount of speed. Horn has gone up against elite talent like Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, Auburn receiver Seth Williams and Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith, all who have put themselves on the radar as early-round draft picks. One game that stands out for Horn so far this season is his game against Auburn where he was lined up against a big-bodied receiver in Seth Williams. Williams had 11 targets and only caught four of them for a total of 74 yards. Horn did an impressive job containing Williams by using his feet and hands to prevent him from making those big plays. Horn does a really nice job opening up his hips to anticipate the routes of the receiver. One play that analysts pointed out was against Florida when Horn was lined up against Pitts. As one of the commentators said, Horn stayed tight with Pitts and “worked back to get his arm wrapped low”.  Jaycee Horn has put himself on the map as a first-round potential prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft. He has the talent to an elite NFL corner and would be an integral part to the Cardinals defense.
Jaycee Horn has room to grow in certain areas of his game. He does tend to play high at times. This will be an easy fix for him, as he has been efficient playing low. He just needs to stay consistent with it. Horn has been impressive lining up against big-bodied receivers. However, sometimes he is not as physical as he should be, which isn’t necessarily a red flag. Horn certainly has shown physicality at times, but if he can play even more physical and aggressive, that will help him immensely at the next level when he is going up against elite talent.
Jaycee Horn would be an immediate impact for the Cardinals’ secondary. With his speed, vision and consistency, Horn very well could be selected in the first round of the draft, and he would be the perfect pick for the Cardinals. He has areas of his game to work on, but Horn has made a name of himself as one of the top corners in the draft this year.
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WATCH: South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn, Joe Horn’s son, has the game of his life vs. Auburn

South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn, son of former Saints WR Joe Horn, helped the Gamecocks complete a 30-22 upset against the Auburn Tigers.

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Joe Horn had an impressive career with the New Orleans Saints during the early 2000’s, leaving the team in 2006 with the second-most receiving yards in franchise history (7,622; that year’s undrafted rookie standout, Marques Colston, would go on to surpass Horn and Eric Martin with 9,759 yards upon his own retirement). He was a four-time Pro Bowler, and a heck of a player for the Saints.

But today’s story is focused on his son, Jaycee Horn. The younger Horn plays cornerback for the South Carolina Gamecocks, and his impressive Saturday fueled a 30-22 upset against the Auburn Tigers. If this is anything to go off of, he could star on the same NFL fields his father once did.

Horn was targeted 8 times by Auburn quarterback Bo Nix; Pro Football Focus credited the junior with two interceptions and five forced incompletions, with another pass deflection picked off by a teammate. He had as productive a day in physical, man-to-man coverage as you’ll see at any level of football.

Maybe he’s someone the Saints could consider in the 2021 NFL Draft, if he declares early. They could certainly use the help after allowing the second-most touchdown passes (15) in the NFL through the first five weeks. But that probably isn’t something Horn is considering right now. Taking down an SEC opponent the way his Gamecocks did should be plenty to reflect on.

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South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn shines in upset win vs. Auburn

South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn came up big in Saturday’s upset win over Auburn

South Carolina beat Auburn on Saturday for the first time in nearly a century (no, that’s not a typo), and one of their top draft prospects put on a defensive clinic.

Jaycee Horn, one of the top cornerback prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft class, was a shutdown artist for the Gamecocks, despite facing one of the better pass-catchers in the country in Auburn’s Seth Williams.

Horn’s combination of size, athleticism, physicality and ball skills should have NFL decision-makers clamoring to add him to their defense when next year’s draft rolls around.

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