Dallas Cowboys Draft: 7 different cornerbacks in 7 different rounds

Jaycee Horn, South Carolina

Value: Fair

News around the league is Caleb Farley isn’t likely going as high as fans and media think he will. With Denver and Philadelphia in need of a defensive back, Patrick Surtain II likely becomes the first player off the board. With all these projections, that ultimately leaves Jaycee Horn on the board as the best player available cornerback for the Cowboys.

I wrote about Horn in last week’s mock draft. *enter shameless mock draft plug*

Jaycee Horn is a good player that likely does more for Dan Quinn and his Cover 1/Cover 3 defense than either of the other two top cornerbacks in Farley and Patrick Surtain II.

The former Gamecock is 6-feet, 205 pounds. He is well put together displaying long limbs but dense muscle mass. He uses his arm length, good balance, and good play strength to jam all WRs at the line of scrimmage. He possesses the necessary change of direction and foot speed to mirror the footwork of WRs at the line of scrimmage and to mirror the receivers in the stem and breaks of their routes.

He displays good play strength to disrupt wide receivers in their route stem but is often seen using “excessive contact” to stay with receivers. It is strategically used as his hands are on the shoulder of the opposing wide receiver and aren’t grabbing other parts of the jersey. Even so, he’ll likely have to cut down at the next level.

Horn displays average explosiveness but he does display good instincts in off man to mirror and defend short routes. In zone coverage, he displays good football IQ to overlap routes and solid transition quickness while matching receivers to minimize separation windows and even make plays on the ball.

Horn displays the physicality you want from your CB1 displaying good competitive toughness. Guarding some of the best matchups in the SEC he was somewhat productive against Kyle Pitts and completely shut down wide receiver Seth Williams.  Another high effort player in Trevon Diggs with Horn should leave opposing receivers feeling uncomfortable.

Horn overall is a very good player with very few concerns. His average explosiveness can allow easy completions underneath in off zone because he just isn’t fast enough to move from the deep 1/3rd zone to the curl zone. Much like the other top cornerbacks, he can struggle to tackle ball carriers. His pursuit angles are usually good, but his tackling technique, which causes him to tackle leading with his shoulder, doesn’t allow him to use his good play strength to consistently wrap up opposing players. His ball skills are solid, but for a team that wants turnovers, he isn’t the best player for that.

The Cowboys don’t really lose any value here. If they like him a lot, pulling the trigger on Horn at 10 makes sense.