Vikings Trade Pitch Lands $34 Million Freak Defender

Getty Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.

At 5-0, the Minnesota Vikings look like buyers approaching the NFL trade deadline. They should consider a move that would fortify their defense in the short term and the future — trading for Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn.

The No. 8 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Horn is in the penultimate year of his $33.5 million rookie deal (including his fifth-year option) with a struggling Panthers franchise on the fringe of a rebuild.

Horn, the son of four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Joe Horn of the New Orleans Saints, has the potential to be a top-10 player at his position with his athleticism and is the prototype for what Brian Flores looks for in his cornerbacks.

Jaycee Horn’s Freak Athleticism is Ideal for Vikings’ Brian Flores

GettyPanthers cornerback Jaycee Horn

At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Horn posted a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the 2021 combine to complement his physically dominant frame.

Horn’s 95th-percentile arm length (33 inches), 98th-percentile vertical jump (42 inches) and 96th-percentile broad jump (11 feet, 1 inch) are all traits that made him a generational prospect at cornerback, posting the highest Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of any player at his position since 1987.

Horn has struggled to stay on the field throughout his career. He played only three games his rookie year before fracturing his right foot. In 2022, Horn started 13 games for Carolina but dealt with rib injuries and ultimately a broken wrist that he had surgery on in Week 17. He suffered a hamstring injury in the 2023 season opener and missed 10 weeks before returning to action in Week 13.

The injury history is concerning, but the athleticism and ability are there.

Horn’s trade value is difficult to assess due to his struggles to stay on the field, but the Vikings could offer their pair of 2025 fifth-round picks or a future third-rounder.

Anything more for Horn would be a costly risk, but the upside could be worth the gamble. Horn has the traits to be one of the best man coverage cornerbacks in the league, which fits what Flores is looking for in a cornerback room that will be depleted by next offseason.

“If Horn can stay healthy, he has the potential to be a top-10 cornerback in the NFL,” Pro Football Focus’ John Kosko wrote in June. “His 80.3 coverage grade is 15th at the position over the past two years, and his 0.83 yards per coverage snap ranks tied for eighth.”

Vikings Need to Secure a Future at CB

GettyMekhi Blackmon #5 and Akayleb Evans #21 of the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota’s misfortunes at cornerback this decade are nearly unmatched in the NFL.

Khyree Jackson‘s unfortunate death and Mekhi Blackmon‘s ACL tear in July marked an extension of an awful string of luck for the Vikings franchise at the cornerback position.

Since 2020, the team has drafted seven cornerbacks, and only Akayleb Evans (2022, fourth round) has contributed on defense this season… three defensive snaps in Week 1.

A 2022 second-round pick, Andrew Booth Jr. was traded away to the Dallas Cowboys are failing to contribute on defense.

The trio of 2020 draftees — Jeff Gladney, Cameron Dantzler and Harrison Hand — are no longer rostered.

Gladney was released due to accusations of assault and signed with the Arizona Cardinals after a jury ruled him not guilty in 2022. He died in an auto accident that summer. Hand did not make the final roster in 2022 and is currently with the Atlanta Falcons. Dantzler was released in 2023 and is currently playing in the CFL.

The Vikings are relying on Byron Murphy Jr., Shaq Griffin and Stephon Gilmore this season, but all three veterans’ contracts expire after the 2024 season.

Blackmon is the only cornerback that should be accounted for in the 2025 starting lineup. Undrafted rookie Dwight McGlothern looks promising, but the Vikings will likely have to find to fill at least one starting cornerback spot by trade or free agency for the 2025 season.