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Young Panthers CB earns praise from Dave Canales, Jaycee Horn
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- Young Panthers CB earns praise from Dave Canales, Jaycee Horn
The Carolina Panthers were scheduled for one more practice at mandatory minicamp today, but head coach Dave Canales has called it off on account of the intensity of their first two.
If there's one takeaway coming out of these workouts, it's that this team has never looked better or deeper at cornerback. Outside starters Jaycee Horn and the ascending Mike Jackson get most of the attention. However, Carolina also has a couple of promising options in the slot as well.
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2024 fifth-round pick Chau Smith-Wade and last year's undrafted standout Corey Thornton are flashing from the inside—with the latter possibly emerging as the favorite for starting duties. He received praise from both Canales and Horn on Wednesday.
"All the work that he's put in in his first year is paying off for him, being conscientious of the schemes, how to play different techniques, he's had exposure outside at the nickel, at the safety spot, a lot of trust with Corey, especially coming off the injury, he attacked the rehab, came back out here, and he's looked great, more and more comfortable, and I love seeing him make plays because he worked so hard at it," Canales said, per Kassidy Hill of Panthers.com .
Canales also told reporters last month that Thornton won the job at nickel in 2025 before sustaining his season-ending fibula injury in Week 12.
Meanwhile, Horn talked up the improvement Thornton's shown from his eye-opening rookie campaign.
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"He's been the same player," he stated. "I think he's getting a little smarter, just getting — anytime you're in the defense, the second time around, you're going to understand it better and know where you're helping and know how to play certain downs differently... he's handling it all well, so I think he's just been the same guy he's always been, just getting better."
As good as they look at this spot, the Panthers haven't tested on their laurels. The front office added another promising corner to the mix in the fourth round of the draft with Texas A&M's Will Lee III.
This group could soon be recognized as one of the NFL's best cornerback rooms.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers 2026 minicamp: CB Corey Thornton turning heads
