Jaycee Horn is already making good on $100M extension with Panthers

Not much that the Carolina Panthers did over the offseason has gone right. They drafted well, but everyone aside from Tetairoa McMillan isn't playing. Free agents Tre'von Moehrig (horrible pass coverage grades), Tershawn Wharton (injured), and Rico Dowdle (inefficient backup) haven't brought as much to the table as the Panthers would've hoped. Trading Adam Thielen was probably a mistake.

But perhaps their biggest move, at least the one that represented maybe the greatest risk, has worked out. They gave Jaycee Horn $100 million, at the time setting the record for a DB contract. That was seen as a huge risk for a cornerback who has been injured all the time and hasn't played like the best defender in the league when healthy.

But so far, Horn has made good on that investment. It's only been two games, but the early returns are promising. They're so promising that Horn appears to be almost in a league of his own compared to other cornerbacks.

good gravy @jayceehorn pic.twitter.com/ALk57SxmAe
— Josh Klein (@joshkleinrules) September 16, 2025

A chart has surfaced showcasing yards per snap versus passer rating when targeted. Essentially, as is the case with these sort of graphs, you want your players to be in the top positive corner. If you look at this graph, Horn is basically by himself there.

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe is right there with him, but those two are not close to most other competitors. Somehow, Donte Jackson is in the region, but no one's been as good as Horn. He has outperformed everyone, including Derek Stingley Jr., Nate Wiggins, Sauce Gardner, and Quinyon Mitchell.

This basically means that Horn is not allowing yards and when QBs do look his way, they just don't have a good passer rating. He has been playing lockdown coverage despite facing wide receivers like Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, and Marvin Harrison Jr.

For what it's worth, Mike Jackson has been quietly very solid, too. He's just ahead of the glut of cornerbacks in the middle section. Those cornerbacks have been average to above-average, and Jackson is on the high end there. He and Horn have arguably made up the best cornerback duo in the NFL so far.

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