NFL Draft 2021 Scouting Report: CB Jaycee Horn, South Carolina

2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

*CB grades can and will change as more information comes in from Pro Day workouts, Wonderlic test results leaked, etc. We will update info as it becomes available.

This my second CB prospect study in 2021 Draft prep. My first deeper scouting study CB was Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley. Considering just these two guys, I’d take Horn over Farley…but it’s not a slam dunk.

They are projecting, roughly, the same size 6’1” +/- and 205 or so pounds. Both sound players and athletic enough for the NFL. So, what’s the difference?

The way that I see it…

The difference for Horn over Farley, through my eyes is two-fold:

1) I thought Farley was very good in movement/coverage going backwards and forwards. He can stop and start with the best of them, but with a minor flaw…I thought that Farley was easily shook by fast- footed WRs making a break in or out on a route. It was hard to beat Farley deep and be careful trying to throw a pass on a timing/stop route on him because he can stop and move forward with the best of them…but break left or right (by an NFL-caliber WR) and you could beat him. He always seemed a step behind in east-west coverage.

Whereas Horn is fantastic in east-west coverage. Horn doesn’t get ‘shook’ by pro routes easily. He is always on a receiver’s hip or stride-for-stride it seems, and that didn’t change when he faced more talented WRs.

2) You can watch Horn and Farley dominate most college WRs, but I mostly watch/study these guys’ every little move versus high-end receivers to make my assessment/judgment on their skillset.

Farley hard a difficult time with Chase Claypool in 2019. In fact, if Notre Dame had a legit downfield passer…Claypool might have had a huge game and knocked Farley into the 2nd-round of the 2021 NFL Draft and forced him to play/not opt-out in 2020. But Notre Dame QB Ian Book rarely looks downfield so he missed Claypool shooting open on deep routes all the time. Book took a few shots deep, but with Claypool having a step or two – Book always underthrew it and allowed Farley to catch up to knock the play away.

Because all that happened…Farley’s ‘coverage metrics’ with the scouting agencies were positively (not negatively) impacted and it all helped Farley hold an elite status coming out of 2019. Imagine if Claypool, who scouts didn’t acknowledge as elite when they saw him in college, would have beaten Farley 1-2-3

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

times for deep balls/TDs with a better QB? What would have happened to Farley’s grades and reputation off of that?

It’s the little things…

But get this… You know what tape I watched first and foremost with Jaycee Horn? 2020 against Florida. I wanted to see him against Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes. But you know what I also saw here – Horn covering Kyle Pitts one-on-one.

And you know what?

Horn gave Pitts fits…like no one else I’ve seen (yet) in Pitts’ career. I saw Pitts toy with Patrick Surtain some, but he didn’t toy with Jaycee Horn. Now, Horn didn’t shadow him the whole game…barely 20% of the time I’d say. However, when Horn went purposefully up on him – Horn was a handful for the uber-elite Pitts.

Claypool and Pitts, to me, are two of the best receiving prospects I’ve ever laid eyes on. Farley somewhat struggled, or was human, in his challenge…Horn was a man.

OK, all that to say -- Horn over Farley for me…but it also means that Horn is a pretty solid cover corner for the NFL. If you can bottle up a much bigger, uber-elite Kyle Pitts some, you’re potentially elite at your (cover) job in your own right.

Additional tape note: Ole Miss WR Elijah Moore was torching South Carolina in the 1st-half of their 2020 game, as he worked away from Horn. Then South Carolina shifted to Horn shadowing Moore everywhere, and he all but shut Moore off the rest of the game – Horn, in coverage, is REALLY good.

There is a downside with Horn. It’s fixable…but it is a problem that drags his scouting grade down – Horn is as disinterested a tackler as you’ll find. At least, in 2020. He went to the Deion Sanders tackling school apparently. However, you don’t heavily weigh your top CB prospects for their tackling skills. I saw Horn make some solid/fine tackles (few and far between), and he has the body for it – so he might step up once paid to do so in the NFL. You can fix this issue, but it was not great on tape in college…and it is a potential problem in the NFL as simple throws on him could turn into huge plays if he can’t/won’t make the tackles.

Other items of note:

-Jaycee is the son of NFL player Joe Horn, a speedy, ahead of his time (a bit) big play NFL WR for the Saints for a few years. Jaycee has some bloodlines.

-Opted-out of 2020 after seven games when the school fired the head coach. He and at least one other player on the team opted-out on the news.

-Jaycee was a 2018 and 2019 honor roll athlete in the SEC. He’s shown responsibility in the classroom. He’s a humble, kinda shy kid but doesn’t play shy.

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

I think Horn is a nice NFL prospect. I wouldn’t go so far as to claim ‘elite’ but he’s very good. Possibly the best in class, but I got a lot more CB prospect research to do…

Jaycee Horn, Through the Lens of Our CB Scouting Algorithm:

-- Between 0-2 solo total tackles in 14 of his last 18 games played. A combination of not getting thrown on AND terrible tackling efforts. It’s an area of concern, for sure.

-- 14 PDs in his last 17 games with two picks. Both of his interceptions coming against Auburn in 2020.

2021 Pro Day Estimates:

6’0”+, 205 +/- pounds, 9”+ hands, 32-33” arms

4.45-4.50 40-time, sub-7.0 three-cone

The Historical CB Prospects to Whom Jaycee Horn Most Compares Within Our System:

This computer comp list doesn’t blow me away, so that’s a mild concern…but Horn as a better version of Kristian Fulton and Jeff Okudah seems about right. Okudah was a #3 overall pick in 2020. Fulton, I thought, was a 1st-round talent who went 3rd-round to Tennessee in 2020.

CB Last First Draft College H H W Cover Speed Agility Tackle Grade Yr Rating Metrics Metric Metric 8.205 Horn Jaycee 2021 So Carolina 6 0.5 205 8.90 5.75 8.40 6.87 8.108 Fulton Kristian 2020 LSU 5 11.5 197 9.47 6.09 4.05 6.41 6.826 Chachere Andre 2018 San Jose St. 5 11.6 197 8.82 5.20 8.38 6.27 7.286 Okudah Jeff 2020 Ohio St. 6 1.1 205 8.32 3.21 8.80 6.16 6.813 Moreau Fabian 2017 UCLA 6 0.4 206 7.33 7.80 5.63 7.48 5.944 Florence Drayton 2003 Tenn-Chatt 6 0.2 198 7.86 5.89 5.16 6.58 7.758 Rogers Carlos 2005 Auburn 6 0.3 196 8.77 3.61 14.88 6.43

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

*The ratings are based on a 1–10 rating scale, but a prospect can score over 10.0+ and less than 0.0 OVERALL RATING -- We merge the data from physical measurables, skill times/counts from the NFL Combine/Pro Days, with college performance data available on pass coverage/tackles, etc. and grade it compared to our database history of all college CBs, with a focus on which CBs went on to be good- great-elite in the NFL. We found characteristics/data points that the successful NFL CBs had in common in college, that most other CB prospects could not match/achieve. Scoring with a rating over a 7.00+ in our system is where we start to take a CB prospect more seriously. Most of the future NFL successful college CBs scored 8.00+, and most of the NFL superior CBs pushed scores more in the 9.00+ levels...and future NFL busts will sneak in there from time to time. 10.00+ is where most of the elite NFL CBs tend to score in our system analysis. COVERAGE -- A combination of on-field data/performance and physical profile data SPEED -- Measurables from a perspective of straight-line speed, burst, etc. AGILITY -- Measurables for lateral movements, quick cuts, body type, speed, etc. POWER -- A look at physical size, tackling productivity in college, other physical measurables. One of the side benefits/intentions here, is to see which CBs may be more of a model for a conversion to playing safety successfully in the NFL. Also denotes CBs who are more physical/will have higher tackle totals...over pure speed/coverage CBs.

2021 NFL Draft Outlook:

Horn seems to be a top five CB prospect for just about every analyst/website where I’ve looked. He’s usually mentioned in the same breath as Caleb Farley and Patrick Surtain, but typically Horn is the #3 of the group…and anytime one of them is not showing as a top 3 CB prospect…it’s Horn as the one outside the top 3.

Horn is very likely to be selected in the 1st-round, worst case top 50 overall…best case top 15.

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

If I were an NFL GM, Horn would be in my likely 1st-round prospects up for consideration list – especially if I needed help at corner and in a division where you face elite WRs on fast tracks/turf a lot. He’s 50/50 likely to be a top 15 overall prospect for our computer models, but top 30 very likely.

NFL Outlook:

Has the talent to start right away, and if he fixes his tackle effort/if it isn’t an issue – he could be an all- rookie team CB and reliable starter+ right away…a pick who won’t disappoint. But if he can’t fix his tackling he’s not worth the 1st-round effort. I suspect he’ll be fine enough tackling, at his size, to warrant leaving his superior cover skills on the field as a starter.

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Signature______Date______2/27/2021

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