The 49ers retained a good portion of their unrestricted free agents during the free agency. – notable players, at least. In doing so, they did a great job of positioning themselves to select the best player available with selection No. 12 in this next NFL Draft.
The rehiring of three possible holders in the secondary could eliminate the cornerback from the list in the first round, but Jason Verrett and K’Waun Williams signed one-year contracts. The best teams always plan ahead. In this scenario, a perspective of the caliber of Jaycee Horn should not prevent San Francisco from choosing the star cornerback.
Horn had his professional day on Wednesday, where he tested as a world-class athlete:
Before his professional day, I felt that Horn was the No. 1 cornerback in the class for several reasons, namely, Horn having the fewest weaknesses. It is an easy projection.
For me, Horn is alone as a cornerback and is one of the seven best players in the NFL Draft. The measurable and the tests exist for Horn, as evidenced above. Its production is undeniable.
By Sports Info Solutions, Horn allowed nine conclusions on 29 targets for 130 yards. That’s a 31% completion percentage at 4.5 yards per target at the main college football conference. This will do. Horn’s factor breaks eight passes and intercepts two shots, and there’s a lot to like on the surface.
These numbers are impressive, but just because he tests well and has impressive statistics does not mean that this translates into the NFL. We see great athletes testing well and not succeeding every year.
So, let’s see how Horn, the player, looks like, where it matters: on the field.
Preferred press area
According to SIS, 50% of Horn’s photos came in the press coverage. He allowed 1.5 yards per snap on the man’s cover, which is the third of all cornerbacks eligible for the draft. No cornerback had more “full coverage points” per game on men’s coverage than Horn this season. Again, statistically, he was excellent.
In the countryside, that hasn’t changed.
Against Texas A&M, Horn lined up in the press coverage against the tight end in the slot, each receiver wide perimeter and even a wideout in a condensed room. The move below is what appears to have high-level movement skills. The horn is aligned from the receiver to the top of the screen:
Often, even in the NFL, cornerbacks run parallel to the receivers and are not in a position to make a move. Before the wideout above crossed the center, Horn had already undermined his route. This is special.
The top cornerbacks at all levels know that if you fail to reach the receiver’s “low shoulder”, you will not make a move. Horn does this routinely.
Horn’s 4.39-yard run flashes when he is tasked with chasing the receivers across the field, but it is his patience in the line of struggle that stands out. There is no panic in Horn’s game. Horn had no trouble turning and running with fast receivers, nor did he run away too early when the smaller, faster and shifter receivers danced with him on the line.
South Carolina used Horn as a matchup cornerback on third downs. This included lining up in the slot against a tight end against the Aggies and a smaller Elijah Moore shifter against the rebels.
Here is Horn in the slot lined up against receiver # 3, Moore, at the bottom of the screen. Moore closes the ground between him and Horn, gives him a false head, but Horn doesn’t move:
Notice how Horn’s weight does not change and his shoulders are straight. You will hear people praise other cornerbacks in this class for being coaches. Horn must be mentioned with those cornerbacks.
There are several techniques that you can use in the line of scrimmage. Horn, surprisingly, is at his best when he can use his reactive athletics and technique, as opposed to his length and physicality.
Tremendous transitions
Horn allowed 18.6 yards per game during the 2020 season. You don’t have that kind of success without putting yourself in a position to make moves with the ball. Before we get to Horn’s ball skills, we have to focus on what got him there. For a guy who weighs 93 pounds, Horn’s transition skills are unmatched.
I mentioned the weight distribution above. There are no missteps when Horn goes out of range. When you see cornerbacks struggling to change direction, it’s usually due to being overweight on the back foot. This is not a problem for Horn, as you can see below, at the bottom of the screen:
This is against a future Heisman trophy winner. Horn shows smooth transition skills, closing speed and a perfectly synchronized “peanut punch” to launch the ball loose. Finishing is not possible without Horn’s pause.
You end up allowing 18 yards per game because – with proper technique and elite closing speed – you get in and out of your intervals in the blink of an eye. Horn’s transition in this piece below to the bottom of the screen is mind-boggling and the definition of efficient:
Horn is in a position to challenge the speed of exit from the cover outside the border. It makes it look regular, but this is unique in every way.
Will being ‘grabbed’ get in the way?
The biggest complaint when talking about Horn is that he is very practical in the field. The former Gamecock was scored by five penalties last season in 466 clicks. Honestly, I never thought that being too aggressive would be a problem for Horn on the next level.
In 19, he was marked by a penalty against Jerry Jeudy which was a joke. In the play below, against Elijah Moore, Horn was penalized. How in the world is this a flag?
Horn is looking at the ball and his feet are entangled. We don’t have to worry about that.
When I see Horn put his hands on a receiver, it is to gain an advantage. It also tells me that he is in a position, usually when on top of the receiver, to place his hands on the wideout. I’ll take the guy who is aggressive every day of the week.
Competitive Alpha
You can’t name a successful NFL cornerback who doesn’t think he’s the most talented person on the planet. It is how they are connected. To stand out in the position, this is the only mentality to have. Horn believes he is the best defensive player in the draft:
Horn competes on each snap. That’s why South Carolina used it throughout its defense. There were plays in which Horn was used in the scrimmage line to define the advantage against the race. In the next series, Gamecocks would use Horn in the middle of the field as security. Why? Because you know that you will get premium effort from a high level athlete with every move.
Against Alabama in 2019, Horn can be seen speaking ill and in the face of Jerry Jeudy at the bottom of the screen:
That was the norm. Horn is the alpha dog that transforms your defense. There is no way to quantify an “alpha”. You only know one when you see it. You can see the alpha in Horn in each game.
Here he is throwing Kyle Pitts on the floor as you throw the keys on the counter when you get home:
It all comes together in the play below, when Horn passes through a blocker to help make a stop at the scrimmage line against Auburn:
You won’t find another cornerback in this draft with Horn’s kind of competitive nature.
Abundant ball skills
Finding the ball when it is in the air is one of the most difficult things a cornerback receives during a play. You must simultaneously monitor the flight of the ball in the air while having the spatial awareness to locate your man. All this having to turn and run while you lose your balance.
Horn’s athleticism appears when the ball is in the air once again, with body control and calm on full display. He has no problem twisting and turning, whether in the coverage area when reading the eyes of the defenders:
It is difficult not to enjoy the communication during Horn’s game above.
Often, from the press-man, I have seen Horn running towards the receiver. Observe the slot receiver at the top of the screen:
Horn’s initial congestion gets the receiver out of his way, and from there, the route ends. He should be kicking himself for not pulling that interception.
Remember how I mentioned getting to the broad ‘low’ shoulder? Horn does this, unlike any other cornerback I’ve seen:
Again, the closing speed helps, but the awareness of positioning yourself on the right shoulder of the receiver was very important in college and will only help Horn in the NFL. All effortlessly, which is promising.
Where are your defects?
I’ve seen people criticizing Horn’s approach or being too sticky on the cover. We have already covered the latter. Horn gave up on a touchdown on a wheel route from receiver No. 3, where another wideout hit him. Pitts took a contested pass from him. In 2019, Horn made a double move that led to a touchdown against Vanderbilt.
Against Auburn – despite forcing eight incompleteness, breaking four passes, including one that led to an interception, and having an interception – Seth Williams “played” Horn on the field. Horn also gave up on a touchdown in a play near the goal line, where he was late after passing through a route.
Back to combat, which I believe is exaggerated. Horn has lost three tackles in the entire season, according to Sports Info Solutions. One came when a “peanut punch” failed. The other two tackle attempts failed after Horn bowed his head. “You can’t get what you can’t see right” was the case.
I point to using Horn as a blitzer as evidence that attacking will not be an issue in the NFL. It can close in a hurry, it is physical, and when it wants to get somewhere, it does. Here is Horn hitting two blockers, the left tackle and the running back, on his way to hit the quarterback:
The games Vols and Aggie highlight Horn’s disposition against the race.
For me, Horn’s failures at the university level are not sustainable; thus, they will not cause you any setbacks in the NFL. Your confidence is palpable. The traits are on display with each movement, and its competitiveness stands out like a sore thumb.
There are no ten better players in this draft than Horn, who spent this off-season training with a guy named Jalen Ramsey. Knowing that Horn is ready to play immediately and has the roof to be a superstar, there will not be many, if any, better options in 12th place.