Bills Central

Bills NFL Draft targets: South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn

The son of former NFL receiver Joe Horn could see his stock rise after impressive performance at Pro Day despite opting out of 2020 season after seven games.

Nick Fierro

The Buffalo Bills probably have a pretty good idea of what kind of player Jaycee Horn is by now. What they and all the other teams around the NFL must determine is what kind of person he is.

Horn was widely criticized for quitting the team at South Carolina after coach Will Muschamp was fired seven games into last season. The cornerback claimed it was for COVID-19 concerns and to get ready for the NFL Draft. The team went 0-3 the rest of the way under Mike Bobo. 

More on that in a minute. For now, let's take a look at the player:

Horn's ball skills continued to improve as he moved from the slot to the outside after his freshman season. As a junior in 2020, he intercepted the only two passes of his college career.

But his tackling production, which already was the weakest part of his game coming in, declined dramatically. Horn went from 45 tackles, 2.0 sacks and eight pass breakups in 11 games in 2018 to 40 tackles, 1.0 sacks and nine pass breakups in 12 games in 2019 to 16 tackles, no sacks and six pass breakups in seven games in 2020.

Still, he grades out as an elite prospect at his position, according to most experts. And his Pro Day performance and measurements likely solidified those gradings.

Horn measured 6-0 3/4 and 205 pounds with 33-inch arms and a wingspan of 77 inches. He ran the 40 in 4.37 seconds. His vertical leap was measured at an astounding 41 inches. He broad-jumped 11 feet, 1 inch and did 19 reps on the bench (at 225 pounds), which is excellent for a cornerback.

So what's not to love?

Well, there was how his season ended prematurely. Horn followed his coach out the door with three games to go, and that didn't sit too well with many fans.

But Horn wasn't the first and he certainly won't be the last.

He was asked about his reasons.

"I give them the straight-up answer," he said. "My mom and grandparents are from Mississippi. My mom and two younger siblings went down there a couple weeks. My two younger siblings got COVID, my grandparents got it, and my aunt, who was considered high risk, got it. Ultimately, she passed.

"My main reason for opting out was to spend time with them, with my aunt especially, before I had to go out to train. After the season you don’t really have time to be with your family or anything. After I heard the news about my aunt, I wanted to spend time with my family before I moved on to the next stage of my life.

"I could tell you now if I could go back I’d do it again. I put my family before anything. I feel my teammates and coaches know how much I love the game of football, but I put my family before the game. If I could go back I’d do it again."

When Horn left the team in November, he Tweeted thanks to everyone. To his teammates, he said: "It hurts tremendously that I won't be out there with you guys the rest of the season, but I know y'all will finish strong. I want to thank y'all for pushing me each and every day and helping me strive to be the best player I can be. I wouldn't be here without y'all. Our brotherhood is unbreakable!"

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro.

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