Rookie Jimmy Horn Jr. brings greater than uncooked pace to Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jimmy Horn Jr.’s reaction was priceless.

First there was a childlike stare by the Carolina Panthers’ rookie wide receiver. Then came a tilt of the head, followed by lips parting as though he was about to say something snarky when asked if he was ready to play defense following a touchdown-saving tackle off a fake-punt completion.

After an outburst of laughs following Saturday night’s practice at Bank of America Stadium, the 5-foot-8, 174-pound Horn deadpanned: “Hey, I’ll play anywhere on the field.”

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, in Charlotte for Wednesday’s joint practice with the Panthers in advance of Friday night’s preseason opener, knows the look and the attitude.

The son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Shedeur saw it often the past two seasons when he and Horn were teammates under Deion, the head coach at Colorado.

“Jimmy definitely is missed,” Shedeur Sanders told ESPN. “A lot of the Colorado players are missed. All of them have different personalities. And Jimmy, I miss seeing his [smile] when we’re at practice with his gold grillz.”

Watch Jimmy Horn Jr. speak to the media. https://t.co/cxK9fQtlDi

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 3, 2025

Horn’s personality is endearing.

But the Panthers selected him in the sixth round, 64 picks after Sanders went in Round 5, because of his speed and playmaking ability.

The playmaking showed up on Horn’s two short touchdown catches. His 4.38 speed in the 40-yard dash was more evident on the tackle of Lathan Ranson following a punt he was set to receive.

That play also showed Horn’s grit. There was no way he was going to let Ransom reach the end zone.

“Nah. Not on me, man,” Horn said. “I’m back there just vibing. I’m back there thinking I’m about to get me a punt. They just had something tricky up their sleeve, and I wasn’t ready. I just had to keep him from scoring.”

That’s the attitude Sanders saw in college.

“He brought a different mentality coming out there every day,” he said.

Confidence and the way Horn approaches every workout has caught the eye of Carolina coach Dave Canales.

“It’s the energy he plays with,” Canales said. “He doesn’t quit on routes, he continues after the normal part of the protection he can count on. He continues to find space and play fast.”

Really fast. Possibly faster than anybody on the Carolina roster.

“He’s just all gas,” Canales said.

Horn is not looking to play offense and defense like his former Colorado teammate and No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter is doing for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead, he is staying focused on his route-running, which he is working overtime to perfect.

But the experience of practicing with Hunter and Sanders, and playing for the man he and others simply call “Coach Prime,” helped make Horn more NFL ready than a lot of rookies.

“I just love the way that he plays football,” Canales said. “It’s full speed all the time. Some guys, we have to really teach them how to get into a walkthrough mode. He’s one of those guys … everything he does is fast.”

Hunter agreed, although he and Horn never went head-to-head in college.

“He’s a ball player,” said Hunter, who will face Horn in the season-opener at Jacksonville. “He loves the game, man. He’s fast.”

Horn has been fast as long as he can remember, saying he would challenge — and beat — every kid in his neighborhood growing up in South Florida.

He credits his mom, a high school track star, more for his speed than his dad, who used more physicality on the football field.

But Horn credits Sanders more than anybody for preparing him for the NFL — and life. It was Sanders who became his father figure after his dad was imprisoned in 2021 on drug-related charges.

It was Sanders who walked onto the field with Horn for Senior Day at Colorado and later went with Horn to visit his dad in prison.

“Jimmy is like my kid; I love him that much,” Sanders told reporters at the time.

Horn has nothing but respect for the senior Sanders even though his personality is not nearly as flamboyant.

“[Sanders] helped me get through it,” he said of what happened to his father. “Not saying I needed somebody to push me. I felt I was self-driven, motivated. But sometimes you need that person in your corner to always pick up where you slack off.”

Horn’s self-motivation doesn’t go unnoticed by teammates.

“That’s really what sticks out for me,” veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen said. “Obviously, everybody knows what he can do athletically with the ball in his hands.

“But I just love that his mindset’s there from day one. Usually, when you look at guys that play a long time in this league, it’s guys that want to be great, that want to do the little things, that want to ask questions, that are not like too good or too cool to kind of learn.”

Horn’s game is a lot like that of Carolina’s all-time leading receiver, 5-foot-9 Steve Smith Sr., a third-round pick in 2001. The difference is it took Smith a year to get taken seriously as a receiver because then-coach George Seifert saw him mostly as a return specialist.

Horn appears ready to make an impression as a receiver and returner immediately despite Carolina’s improved depth at receiver.

“He was a strong, short receiver,” Horn said when comparing his game to Smith’s. “He was really explosive every time he touched the ball. He was like trying to put somebody in the dirt with his hands. That’s just how you play — relentless, fearless. I kind of feel like that, too.”

Horn showed that Smith-like tenacity chasing down Ransom on the fake punt.

That’s why he didn’t hesitate to say he liked the touchdown-saving tackle more than the two touchdown catches, because the play showcased all he’s about.

That also may explain the look, which suggested he wouldn’t hesitate to do anything asked of him.

“Once I really learned the game of football and started playing, it was like, ‘If you’re gonna step on the field, why not come out here to play?”’ Horn said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

ESPN reporters Michael DiRocco and Daniel Oyefusi contributed to this story.