South Carolina Corner Jaycee Horn did not make Todd McShay’s ESPN NFL mock draft 1.0 in January, but he is among his 32 predictions in the second version, released online Tuesday night.
McShay placed Horn in 27th overall for Baltimore, three draft after Hayden Hurst was selected by Baltimore in the first round.
“There are definitely wide receiver options for a team that has taken very little advantage this season, including Minnesota Bateman and Ole Miss’ Elijah Moore,” wrote McShay to explain his choice of Horn to the Ravens. “An edge rusher could also be in the mix. But weighing need against value, Horn – a mid-season exit option – appears as the most logical choice here. He is long and instinctive and tends to play his best in big games. The son of former NFL receiver Joe Horn, he would fit in perfectly with a secondary who could use the depth behind Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey and Jimmy Smith.
“But then again, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Baltimore take the first round pass picker route for the fourth time in the last seven drafts (Marquise Brown, Hayden Hurst and Breshad Perriman).”
Version 1.0 of McShay’s full mock | Horn could be ‘a great NFL journalist’
Mel Kiper Jr., McShay’s colleague on the ESPN NFL Draft, placed Horn in 23rd overall in his first mock draft, launched in late January.
Over the course of three seasons, Horn started 29 games during his South Carolina football career and played in another. This season, he had 16 tackles in total, with one losing yards. He also has a couple of interceptions, both against Auburn, when he beat SEC’s defensive player of the week, and had six past splits to his credit. Horn announced that he was opting out of the rest of the season on November 16, the day after Muschamp’s resignation.
Entering the 2020 season, Horn collected 85 tackles as a freshman and sophomore, with 6.0 tackles for loss, including 3.0 bags. He had 17 career pass separations and two forced fumbles in 23 games, including 22 matches. In his first two seasons, according to the PFF, Horn played 1,426 snaps with opponents aiming at his receiver only 100 times for 57 submissions and two touchdowns.