Jaycee Horn, a "football junkie," is back on the field

"It ate me up; I'm not gonna lie," Horn admitted. "It killed me because regardless of circumstances, I ain't hitting my goals last year, you know? I wanted to be in that conversation. I wanted to be in the playoffs, I wanted to win, and I couldn't do any of that. I was hurt, so even though I couldn't control it, with me being hurt, it still ate at me bad. So all I can do is keep stacking the days and wait till game one."

A year ago, he was forced to watch and learn. That meant a lot of tape, and a lot of time spent with mentor and former defensive player of the year Stephon Gilmore. He learned everything from the minutiae of defenses to physical recovery tips from Gilmore, and now he's ready to share those lessons. He's part of a much younger cornerback room, where 26-year-old Donte Jackson is practically the old man.

But Horn's always had the gravity of a veteran player, one of the side effects of growing up in an NFL household (his father was former Saints and Falcons wideout Joe Horn). He's still glad that Jackson's back, though, because he still hasn't quite wrapped his mind around the idea of being a leader (though he is).

"It was real comforting, cause he was like my vet when I came in," Horn said of Jackson, who re-signed this offseason after a brief trip to the free agent market. "He took me under his wing, showed me the ropes, showed me how to practice, showed me how to do all the little things. So I was kind of wary that I had to step into that leadership role real quick if he got out of here. So I was happy to know he was coming back, and I get to learn more from him, because, you know, it's definitely good to have him as a teammate."