Top 10 cornerbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft

#3 2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Jaycee Horn (South Carolina)

6’ 1”, 205 pounds; JR

Around the 200-overall recruits range, this son of Pro Bowl receiver Joe Horn started all but one game his first two years Columbia, over which span he broke up 17 passes and came up with six tackles for loss.

He really exploded onto scene this past season, when the coaches started asking him to travel with the opposing team’s top wideout and started beating guys up. Brown intercepted two passes and knocked down another six in the seven games he played before opting out when head coach Will Muschamp was dismissed. However, he has been one of the biggest risers in this pre-draft process, because of what he put on limited last year and the athletic testing at South Carolina’s pro day.

Physically, Horn presents everything you want to see from a press-corner, with great thickness and length, having those 33-inch arms. He shows patient feet, quick ability to pivot and works around receivers to knock the ball down. He applies a lot of pressure on receivers as a physical corner and keeps himself square for a long time, because he is not scared of having people run by him.

You see him stay balanced against hesitation releases, while sliding his feet slightly backwards and then can turn and run with guys down the sideline. Horn is especially great at taking away slant routes, by squeezing in-between the ball and the receiver to knock it down. On outside releases, he pushes at the near-shoulder, to ride receivers further into the boundary and force quarterbacks to lead them out of bounds.

He really excels at having leverage to one side against tighter splits and then forcing receivers to work and force their way through him, to be able to go the other side. Horn played some soft press as well, where he shoots his feet into a parallel position and has some twitchiness to get back into the hip-pocket of receivers on inside releases, while slightly re-routing guys.

Horn is crafty with little jersey tugs, as he tries to stick with crossing patterns. Moreover, on spot routes and hooks, Horn can decelerate pretty well too, to not overshoot the target. In 2019, he barely allowed half of the targets his way to be completed and then last season, he limited it to a third (8 for 24) for just 116 yards on 239 coverage snaps.

Jaycee Horn completely shut down Auburn’s Seth Williams in their 2020 matchup outside of one 50-50 ball downfield, where he kind of tripped, including breaking up three passes towards the end-zone and him picking off two balls. He put out some clinic tape in that contest and depending on what coaches will think of Williams in the pre-draft process, that probably really boosted his draft stock.

He also did a great job of sticking with Florida tight-end Kyle Pitts on a bunch of crossing routes, even though he got boxed out along the sideline once. As physical as Horn is during route patterns, it’s his ultra-competitive nature at the catch point, fighting through contact late and somehow getting a hand in there, that really stands out, where those lanky arms definitely are a plus.

You see that a lot on jump balls against him, where the ball is in the air and he has time to get himself into position. Horn aggressively works upfield against quick screens and puts some receivers on their backside, before delivering a pop on the ball-carrier. He rarely gets himself out of position against the run, keeping his shoulders square and bounces down, as he deciphers the action. With those long arms, he can keep blockers away from his chest and then disengage when the ball-carrier tries to get outside of him, as he takes care on contain responsibilities.

Nevertheless, you definitely see some false steps at times by Horn, when he doesn’t land his jam and he gets caught leaning out in front, as he tries to recover. And then of course, there’s the tendency of getting really grabby at the break point, at times when it’s not even necessary.

He could have a bunch of flags thrown against him his rookie year and his future NFL team better get those boxing gloves out, to teach him how to adjust to the pros. In off-coverage, his pedal is rather high and it takes him some time to come out of it, to get back into proper position. Horn really dips his heads into tackles and doesn’t always see what he hits. And he isn’t actively looking to get involved in the action necessarily, rather than just being where he’s supposed to be.

Horn actually put up better across the board than Alabama’s Patrick Surtain at the South Carolina pro day, with a 4.39 in the 40, a 42-inch vertical and an 11’1” broad jump, plus 19 reps on the bench press. I’m a big fan of the alpha mentality and overall skill-set he brings to the table.

Considering how much the NFL loves those physical marvels that blow them away with measurements, I would not be shocked if Horn was the first corner off the board, especially with Caleb Farley likely to drop due to the back concerns. In year one, I just think he will have some learning experiences with letting go of receivers’ jerseys, because otherwise a different piece cloth will be thrown.