Panthers rookie minicamp: Speedy playmaker adds new element to WR room
The Carolina Panthers weren’t content with their wide receiver room, even after selecting Tetairoa McMillan with the eighth overall pick in April’s NFL Draft.
So, instead of just moving on from the position after the first round, GM Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales decided to double dip and bookend their draft weekend with sixth-round pick Jimmy Horn Jr. The Colorado wideout, like McMillan, could add a special ingredient to the position. But unlike McMillan’s trademark size and jump-ball ability, it is potential game-changing speed that Horn brings to the table.
Canales, Morgan and the rest of the Panthers’ staff got to see that attribute firsthand during rookie minicamp this weekend.
“Body control and then that explosive element (of) bursting into his routes,” Canales said after Saturday’s workout. “And then on some of the routes we were able to kind of get him down the field a little bit more — you could see him open up and just that vertical element is going to give him a chance to bring something to our group.
“We try to look (at) all of our receivers like, ‘What attribute can they add to the group to round it off?’ And he certainly does that.”
Jimmy Horn warns: He has more speed to show off
Horn was asked, following the completion of rookie minicamp, about his speed and if he had clearly been able to show off his skill set. The rookie said he wasn’t given the chance to unleash his complete arsenal of acceleration during what turned out to be an individual drill orientation.
But Horn, who said he used to go around different neighborhoods in Sanford, Florida looking to race other kids for fun, warns his untapped speed is definitely there.
“I’ve always just been fast,” Horn said. “I always knew that I had a different kind of speed.”
The 5-foot-8, 174-pound wideout played running back when he was a child. He grew up watching highlights of Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, who would dip and dodge defenders with ease during his career with the Detroit Lions.
And while Horn now plays receiver and returner, he still has some shiftiness to add to the acceleration in his tool box. He’s not exactly Sanders with the ball in his hands, but he can make defenders miss and create plays that punish the entire defense.
After starting his college career at South Florida, Horn transferred to Colorado in 2023 to play under head coach Deion Sanders.
During his two-year run with Deion Sanders, who is affectionately called “Coach Prime” by his players, Horn collected 95 catches for 1,008 yards and seven touchdowns.
Working under a former Pro Bowl talent also helped Horn learn how to be a professional ahead of his leap to the NFL. He said playing at Colorado prepared him for rookie minicamp in Charlotte.
“It prepared me real good,” Horn said. “Our practices at Colorado (were) probably like 15 minutes longer than this. Coach Prime prepped us pretty good, and the way they ran the system — it was very similar, too.”
Undrafted QB shows he’s not an afterthought
Former UCLA QB Ethan Garbers was the lone signal-caller at Panthers rookie minicamp this weekend. So, the 6-foot-2, 207-pound passer was kept pretty busy during individual drills.
Garbers, who went undrafted, was asked to lead the wide receivers, tight ends and running backs during offensive reps. He was throwing to the likes of McMillan, Horn, fourth-round pick Trevor Etienne and fifth-round pick Mitchell Evans, among others over the course of the two-day minicamp.
And while his arm got little rest, Garbers made a positive impression by throwing with accuracy and timing throughout the weekend. The 22-year-old QB looked the part, and that’s not always easy when there’s little time to recover between reps.
“He was great,” Canales said. “He looks like he could throw all day. Really fluid thrower, good athlete too, just even just kind of reflecting back on some of the plays he made with his legs — those are the things we’re looking for.
“And then, for him to be able to come out here with a bunch of guys he’s never thrown with before, except for (former UCLA teammate) Bryce Pierre … to just be able to handle that load, handle the alerts. We threw a lot of tempo stuff at him and at the rest of the group to kind of test their study habits and all that. He did a great job.”
Bryce Young is firmly entrenched as the team’s No. 1 QB in 2025. And veteran Andy Dalton was re-signed this offseason to continue to be Young’s backup and mentor.
So, Garbers — who signed his undrafted free-agent contract on Thursday — will compete with second-year QB Jack Plummer throughout the offseason for the No. 3 job. Plummer, who joined the team under similar circumstances last year, will need to hold off Garbers to retain the role beyond training camp.
Plummer made some impressive plays in last summer’s preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills. That outing helped him secure the team’s lone QB spot on the practice squad in 2024. And while Plummer clearly wants to push himself back on the 53-man roster — where he finished his rookie season — Garbers’ minicamp performance at least puts some heat on Plummer.
Panthers rookie minicamp: Quick hits
▪ New Orleans Saints QB Derek Carr, who had been dealing with a serious shoulder injury, decided to retire, according to multiple national reports on Saturday. The Saints selected Louisville QB Tyler Shough with the 40th overall pick in the second round in the draft. Shough is expected to compete for the starting QB job with former South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler, a fourth-round pick last offseason.
▪ Safety Isaac Gifford — who played at Nebraska under former Panthers head coach Matt Rhule — was an undrafted addition this week. Gifford is the younger brother of Luke Gifford, who has carved out a six-year career as a linebacker and special-teams ace with the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans. The elder Gifford joined his third team, the San Francisco 49ers, during the first week of free agency in March.
▪ Undrafted rookie running back Kay’ron Lynch-Adams, formerly of Michigan State, was the oldest rookie under contract during this weekend’s minicamp. The 25-year-old began his college career at Rutgers in 2019 before transferring to UMass in 2021 and Michigan State in 2024. He actually shared a running back room with Panthers running back Raheem Blackshear, a three-year NFL veteran, at Rutgers in 2019 when Lynch-Adams was a freshman.
▪ Undrafted defensive tackle Jared Harrison-Hunte — who played his first five years of college football at Miami before transferring to SMU last year — is a player to monitor. While he played six years of college football, his final five seasons — including just one with the Mustangs — produced 30 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks. He’s an older rookie at 24, but he looks all of his 6-foot-4, 294-pound billing. GM Dan Morgan likely garnered plenty of insight on him through his alma mater.
▪ Outside linebacker Kydran Jenkins took part in the Panthers’ rookie minicamp as a tryout player. The former college teammate of second-round pick Nic Scourton collected 23.5 career sacks in five seasons at Purdue. While his production was impressive, the 22-year-old defender is significantly undersized for the NFL edge spot at 6-foot and 256 pounds. It’s worth wondering if the Panthers saw enough in him this weekend during his tryout to justify potentially moving him inside to an off-ball position.
This story was originally published May 10, 2025 at 3:47 PM.
