Panthers’ 1st-round pick honors Kobe Bryant by wearing No. 8

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — When Carolina Panthers first-round draft pick Jaycee Horn learned the NFL would let cornerbacks wear single-digit numbers this season, his jersey choice became easy.

He selected No. 8 to honor his childhood hero, Kobe Bryant.

Horn wore No. 1 while playing for the South Carolina Gamecocks, but had planned to switch No. 24, the other number Bryant wore with the Lakers, when he got to the NFL.

However, that number was already taken in Carolina.

Horn called No. 8 the “perfect number” for him since he was also drafted eighth overall by the Panthers.

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