The Carolina Panthers are entering the 2025 season with hope and excitement, thanks to quarterback Bryce Young’s strong performance at the end of the 2024 season. After a rocky start of the season, the Panthers seem to be fully back in on Young as the QB to lead the franchise into the future.
The team invested further in getting Young some weapons by drafting Tetairoa McMillan with the eighth pick out of the University of Arizona. However, so far in camp, there is another rookie wide receiver making noise in the form of sixth-round pick Jimmy Horn Jr. out of the University of Colorado.
Horn has made waves since the start of training camp, and he’s catching everything, including the eyes of coaches and teammates alike.
Making the Tough Catches
Jimmy Horn Jr on Tuesday continued to impress at training camp. Horn was practicing with the twos in a 7-on-7 drill when he came up with a tough catch. Panthers team website writers Darin Gantt and Kassidy Hill described the play in detail in their training camp observations for August 12.
“The rookie was running with the twos—or as Andy Dalton has taken to calling the group, ‘The Next Guys’—in a 7-on-7 period. The rookie used his speed off the line to open up space downfield. Corner Michael Reid turned on the burners to catch up, instinctually pulling on Horn’s jersey to try to slow down the speedster.”
Gantt and Hill continued to describe the play, “It was a flag, something that would’ve given the offense yardage anyways during a game. But Horn didn’t need it, fighting forwards even with the overzealous defense, and made a diving catch towards the sideline.”
Horn’s willingness to fight and put his body on the line has left an impression on star cornerback Jaycee Horn. The Pro Bowler had high praise for Horn in Gantt and Hill’s article.
“You got to put hands on Jimmy. He too fast,” Horn said. “It’s hard to guard him at all because of his speed. He plays tough, you know. I don’t think he get a lot of credit for how tough he plays with his size because he is a smaller receiver, but you see him in camp.”
Just as Horn has been impressing on the field, he’s done the same off the field as well.
Impressing Off the Field
Jimmy Horn Jr. has made an impact on his teammates throughout training camp as they have witnessed his hard work and unselfishness when it comes to benefiting the team. Horn reminds Panthers head coach Dave Canales of another receiver he looks fondly upon, David Moore.
Moore has played under Canales at two stops now, first with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and now with the Panthers. Like Horn, Moore was also a late-round draft pick who had to work exceptionally hard to make it in the NFL. In Darin Gantt and Kassidy Hill’s August 11 training camp observations, Canales praised Horn’s work ethic and detailed how Horn reminded him of Moore.
“It reminds me of a young David Moore, seventh-round pick out of East Central Oklahoma, and I spent every second that I could with David Moore for about two years to the point where now he’s had a really successful career on a couple of different teams,” Canales said. “It’s that type of work, it’s that type of development and mindset that Jimmy has, that he wants it, and that goes really far with us.”
Horn is not a guarantee to make the Panthers’ final roster, but his work ethic and tenacity on and off the field will give him a great chance.
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