Jaycee Horn's 2026 Mindset Should Give Carolina Panthers Fans Hope

Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn is focused on improvement in 2026, both for the team as a whole and for himself.

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales and cornerback Jaycee Horn. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers had a good but not great 2025 season, even though they managed to make the playoffs.

Carolina ended a seven-year postseason drought by winning the division, but the Panthers also finished with a losing record and backed into the playoffs with help from the Atlanta Falcons.

Fast forward to 2026 and cornerback Jaycee Horn says the goal is to take a step forward by at least winning a playoff game, something Carolina failed to do in 2025.

“That’s just our goal as a team," Horn said. "We made it to the playoffs last year, now it’s time to go win in the playoffs and take the next step. That’s what you want to do every year."

Horn had another strong year for the Panthers in his fifth season, with the veteran giving up a completion rate of 48.4% and a passer rating of 72.3 en route to his second Pro Bowl nod.

Horn has no intention of resting on his laurels, though, and is still aiming to get better even after establishing himself as a premiere cornerback in the NFL.

“You see it so much, especially at the cornerback position, guys will be considered one of the best in the league and fall off the cliff. So you’ve gotta reset and refocus every year,” Horn said. “Each year presents new challenges. There’s new faces in the league coming in every year. So you’ve gotta attack your work humbly and try to get better every day.”

Horn's mindset offers hope

There's a few big positives to glean from Horn's comments, the first of which is the PAnthers having their sights set on taking a step forward this coming season. It's very clear Carolina isn't simply hanging its hat on what happened in 2025.

We're also encouraged to see Horn's desire to still improve at this stage of his career.

Granted, the Panthers need the rest of their secondary to improve after a campaign in which the Panthers sported the No. 15 pass defense in the NFL, but even better play from Horn should be enough for Carolina's unit have a better showing in 2026.

Now that the Panthers wrapped up their mandatory minicamp, the team will turn its focus to training camp following a lengthy break.

Head coach Dave Canales said the team will begin training camp on July 22, which Canales believes will be "the hardest (training) camp they've ever had," with the team set for the Hall of Fame game and a pair of joint practices.