Another Gamecock getting projected as a 2021 NFL first rounder
A South Carolina defense anchored by two potential first rounders? It’s been a while since that happened.
And CBS’s projection placing Jaycee Horn in the first round has a little cheekiness, sending Horn to a familiar place.
The way-too-early sent Horn to New Orleans with the 29th pick. His father, Joe, was with the Saints for seven years and made four Pro Bowls.
“Joe Horn’s son comes home to play for the Saints?” CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards wrote. “It is a story straight out of NFL folklore. New York finally parted with Janoris Jenkins. There is no reason to believe that the Giants’ cast-off is the answer for the Saints.”
A set of mock drafts had Jaycee Horn’s teammate and fellow started at corner, Israel Mukuamu, as a possible first rounder.
Horn has been a starter since his first season on campus. He played the nickel in Year 1 and then moved to outside corner last season.
At 6-foot-1, with good length, he was the team’s best coverage player last season and had a good case for the title in 2018, when fifth-round pick Rashad Fenton was in the lineup.
Horn has yet to pick off a pass in his college career, but last season he made 40 tackles, broke up nine passes and forced a pair of fumbles, despite opponents avoiding him at times. His work as a box player as a freshman shows something about his ability to mix it up as a tackler.
The last South Carolina defense with multiple first-rounders was 2011, when Melvin Ingram, Jadeveon Clowney and Stephon Gilmore teamed up.
The Gamecocks are set to open the 2020 season Sept. 5 against Coastal Carolina.
