Will Green Bay Take Jaycee Horn With The 29th Overall Pick?

I have seen a few mocks slotting the former-South Carolina Cornerback coming to Green Bay and while things would certainly have to break the Packer’s way in order for him to fall to where they can get him, Jaycee Horn could be a day 1 starter for a secondary that can use his aggressiveness.

Background

Jaycee Horn is a 6’1″ 205 pound cornerback from Georgia who has played 27 games for the Gamecocks and was one of the few true freshmen ever to start games in the SEC. While he decided to opt-out of the 2020 season after 7 games, he has enough film on tape to let teams know who he can be.

Coming from an NFL bloodline is pretty much always a plus for players looking to get drafted, and Jaycee’s lineage is golden. His father is former Pro Bowl receiver Joe Horn who played with the New Orleans Saints and it looks like Jaycee very much inherited his father’s athletic genes.

Draft Profile

From Ian Cummings of Profootballnetwork.com-

“Horn is one of the most physical, aggressive cornerbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft. The South Carolina cornerback has a long, lean build, and uses his length both at the line and in coverage. He’s not shy when attacking his opponents in press coverage, and his aggressive nature also shows up at the catch point, where he doesn’t hesitate to impact the ball.”

From Joe Marino of Thedraftnetwork.com-

“Horn is a very good zone coverage corner that does well to stay leveraged, cue the backfield, and work into throwing lanes. Playing Horn in zone limits some of his restrictions in terms of footspeed and fluidity and takes advantage of his length and aggressiveness to drive on routes, which are some of his best qualities.”

Downsides

Aside from his phenomenal traits which include some of the best hand-usage in the SEC, Horn can get grabby later in routes and has been guilty of laying on high hooks on receivers late in the route.

Additionally, he does not tend to hold on to interceptions and can be exposed in man coverage at the NFL level, as he is not considered to be an elite athlete.

Verdict

Drafting Jaycee Horn this high would be akin to the Packers trying to re-draft Josh Jackson. Horn and Jackson seem to be remarkably similar prospects to me in terms of size, playstyle, weaknesses, etc. While Packers fans would certainly point out that Josh Jackson’s production was low over the course of his time (so far) with the Packers, he was a fantastic draft prospect and considered a steal at the time.

Jaycee Horn, through the benefits of 3 years of top-flight starter play and above-average football IQ, could give the Packers what they thought they were drafting when they picked Josh Jackson in 2018.

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