WATCH: Jaycee Horn grabs his first NFL interception

The Carolina Panthers were expecting big things out of cornerback Jaycee Horn when they drafted him with the eighth overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. Today, they started to get some return on that investment.

Horn snagged the first interception of his NFL career today against the New Orleans Saints.

Watch as he picks off Saints quarterback Jameis Winston.

The first of many! @jayceehorn_10! pic.twitter.com/tyZrK0Zgx6

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) September 19, 2021

The interception is the first of what the Panthers hope will be many more in Horn’s bright NFL future.

Horn was rated as one of the cornerback prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Early in fall camp, Horn had to adjust to the very strict rules in pass coverage in the NFL that make it difficult for defensive backs to be physical with the wide receivers.

“Jaycee is grabbing and holding too much,” Panthers head coach Matt Rhule told the Charlotte Observer. “A lot of those calls are going to get called back. I love Jaycee’s tenacity, but he’s got to master his craft along the way and he knows that.”

Horn agreed with his head coach

“I definitely need to work on it. I definitely need to keep my hands out of there, but also still bring the physical mindset and physical attitude to the game,” he said.

South Carolina bio

In 2020, he earned second team All-SEC honors from the league’s coaches and third team All-SEC honors from Pro Football Focus. The physical cover corner led all SEC corners in completion percentage allowed in 2020, only allowing a 33 percent completion percentage. The best game of his career came in a win over the Auburn Tigers in 2020, when he had three tackles, two interceptions, and four pass breakups, two interceptions, and four pass breakups.

Once South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp was dismissed, Horn opted out of the final three games of the 2020 season.

On3’s Tim Verghese also contributed to this report.