Jaycee Horn
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Jaycee Horn, the Carolina Panthers cornerback, recently sustained a hand injury in a car accident, requiring stitches.
The Carolina Panthershaven’t made the playoffs since 2017, and with a lack of playoff appearances comes decreased visibility, and with that lack of visibility sometimes leads to strugglingteam’s star players getting overlooked. In the case ofESPN’s ranking of theTop 100 players,that’s what happened to Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn.
Horn was left offESPN’s initial list of Top 100 players in the NFL, but his namewas brought up as a snub onESPN’s follow-up to the list, “Biggest snubs in the NFL top 100 player rankings? Execs speak” written by Jeremy Fowler.
The original Top 100 list overlooked Horn, but a reexamination of the list by NFL personnel around the league gave Horn his due.
“I really think he has a chance to be a special player and a face of that franchise,”said a high-ranking NFL personnel man. “He’s what you want.”
Part of what has people all around the league raving about Horn is the preparation he has taken to elevate his game to the next level.
Elevating His Mental Game
Jaycee Hornisn’t resting on his laurels aftercoming off a Pro Bowl season in 2024. Hornis determined after becoming a $100 million man to be even better this season. To accomplish that, Horn knew he had to sharpen his football knowledge, and not only study the defense, but also learn the intricacies of the offense.
Darin Gantt ofPanthers.com, in his August 12 article, detailed how Horn has gone about studying and preparing this offseason to broaden his knowledge base, including seeking advice from Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik.
“We always talk,”Horn said. “Becausewe’ll be going back and forth after the 7-on-7 period or talking a little trash, but you knowwe’re always asking for insight, like what he was thinking on that when he drew that play up, or what coverage he was looking for, and we kind of just bounce ideas back and forth.”
Horn has sharpened his mind this offseason, but over the course of training camp, Horn has kept an edge to himself, too.
Playing With a Chip On His Shoulder
Training camp can get fiery, and emotions can flare, especially when you have an expert trash talker like Jaycee Horn. Part of what makes Horn special is that he lets the opposing player know when he makes a play on them, and thatis not always taken kindly.
Horn during training got into a scuffle with tackle Ikem Ekwonu during an 11-on-11 drill, according toJoe Person of The Athletic. Horn fighting a lineman is nothing new for him, as last season hewas ejected from a game against the Chicago Bears following afight with lineman Matt Pryor.
However, while there is a line, that scrappiness from Horn is exactly what Panthers head coach Dave Canales wants out of his players. Anthony Rizzuti ofPanthers Wire transcribedCanales’ thoughts followingHorn’s fight with Ekwonu.
“And they were just kinda in a competitive moment,”Canales said. “Tempers flared. We tried to push the guys to the edge. We went a little bit over. But, at the same time,that’s the edginess we have to play with. When we have these opportunities, we have to be able to play a physical style of football. And sometimes, it goes a little too far.”
Horn is a fiery personality when he gets on the football field, and his snub fromESPN’s Top 100 players will only add more gasoline toHorn’s raging, competitive fire.