Seeing rookies have success ‘ate him up.’ Panthers’ Jaycee Horn is ready to reclaim his

When the Carolina Panthers drafted Jaycee Horn with the eighth pick in the 2021 draft, they had high hopes.

His season started out great, too.

He had an interception and allowed only two catches in coverage for 18 yards, according to Pro Football Reference.

But it all came to a halt during a routine play in the team’s Week 3 game against the Houston Texans. As Horn was backpedaling, he tripped, fell and landed on the turf with a thud.

Horn broke three bones in his right foot, was relegated to a scooter and missed the rest of what looked like a promising rookie season.

“It was difficult,” Horn said recently. “Obviously being a competitor and seeing your team fight to win and you can’t help. You can’t help them out in no way.”

The Panthers were 3-0 in the games Horn played. They were 2-12 in the games without him, and missed out on the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

But he’s back now, and says he’s 100-percent healthy as he prepares for Year 2.

“Jaycee obviously missed a lot of football, but Jaycee, he’s a football junkie,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said. “He was learning as the year went on last year. That’s why these reps are so important. Every walk-through. Every meeting. Every little bit that they do on their own. Every team period is a chance for those guys to develop.”

As the Panthers begin Organized Team Activities, two months before training camp, cornerback is one of their youngest but deepest position groups.

While the Panthers let Stephon Gilmore walk in free agency, they brought back veteran cornerback Donte Jackson on a three-year, $35 million deal. They also have C.J. Henderson, Myles Hartsfield, Keith Taylor and Rashaan Melvin.

Horn is the potential cornerstone, though.

At 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, his size is ideal for the position. And in his short time on the field, he showed that he has the potential to be a lockdown cornerback. That’s what the Panthers need as they try to continue their ascension on defense. Carolina allowed the second-fewest yards on defense in the NFL last season, behind only the Buffalo Bills. They struggled, however, to create turnovers. And that’s where Horn can come in.

In some ways, Year 2 for Horn will just continue his rookie year. He still feels like a rookie after not playing a full three games in 2021. Seeing his fellow rookies Patrick Surtain II in Denver and Micah Parsons in Dallas have success and earn accolades while he was out bothered Horn, he said.

“It ate me up, I ain’t going to lie,” he admitted, with a smile. “Because regardless of the circumstances, I didn’t hit my goals last year. I wanted to be in that conversation. I wanted to be in the playoffs. I wanted to win.

“And I couldn’t do any of that because I was hurt.”

Though frustrating, Horn’s time away from football was beneficial.

He said it taught him patience. He couldn’t run around. He couldn’t go where he wanted. He couldn’t play football. He had to wait. During that off-time in the training room, he said he learned a lot from Gilmore, a fellow former Gamecock. They talked about recovery after games, what plays to look for in certain games.

And he watched a lot of film.

The experience of going through the injury taught Horn a lot about himself. It has helped him grow and he hopes to see that on the field this upcoming season for the first time in nearly a year.

“Even though I couldn’t control being hurt, it still ate at me bad,” Horn said of watching last season. “So all I can do is keep stacking the days and wait until Day 1.”