CHARLOTTE — The Panthers were on the back half of the season, game prepping for an opponent— Mike Jackson can't remember exactly which one —"It was KC or Philly"—when Jaycee Horn said something that changed the mindset of the sixth-year corner, Jackson.

"(Jaycee) was like, 'I don't worry about the receiver because they got to worry about me,'" Jackson said. "And to some people, that come off like arrogant or bragging, but it's not like, just how I got to read him, he got to read me. I'm giving him different looks and all that. So I was like, OK, you might be on to something. So I kind of did that and applied it to my game as well."

Jackson shared this story of his season defining moment this week, as he and his teammates cleaned out their locker and made plans for the offseason. It was a season that the Panthers defense wrote their names in the history books in ways no team ever wants to be associated with. But one of the bright spots was Jackson.

Acquired in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks that sent seventh-round linebacker Michael Barrett out west just before training camp, Jackson came in to presumably fill the role while Dane Jackson was on injured reserve. When Dane Jackson was activated on October 19, Carolina did some shuffling to move him to the nickel position because the thought of taking Mike Jackson off the field was laughable.

"He got in late in training camp and really learned the defense really quickly, and I think you've seen his comfort level in the defense grow as the seasons progressed," shared defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero last week.

"Very intelligent player, great work habits… I've been so pleased with him and so happy for how he's played, and he certainly should be acknowledged for the work that he did this season."

Some of it is a tenaciousness that makes "Mike Jack" who he is: the practice squad player who worked his way into a full-time starter and ended this season with 76 tackles (fourth on the team), three tackles for loss, and two interceptions.

"He certainly has come up big for us in a few games," Dave Canales said last week. "I think about the Saints game, the fourth down play he makes to end the game. I think about the Cardinals game, two knockdowns with Marvin Harrison Jr. over there on the right side, and just kind of Rolodexing just some of the different ways he showed up, you know, a sweet TFL in the game last weekend where they had a toss crack, for minus-3, and just the style of him, the consistency of Mike."

This "Rolodexing" didn't even go far enough back to account for his first interception against the Raiders in Week 3, and was done before Jackson got his second pick of the season, setting the Panthers up for a touchdown in a Week 18 win in which they needed every possession to nab a victory against the Atlanta Falcons.

"To see the impact of Michael Jackson's interception and when we score a touchdown, and all of a sudden, it's like that could have been the one that decided it," Canales said after the game of the play.

Some of it is a work ethic that saw Jackson finish this season tied for the eighth-highest percentage of defensive snaps played at 99.0 percent. There was only one game this season, a blowout loss against Washington, in which Jackson didn't play 100 percent of the snaps.

"He's exactly the type of people that we want to be here, with the culture, the attitude, and the professionalism," Canales said.

Some of it is a work ethic that is the foundation for everything else.

"The other day, it was the day after Christmas, I'm going into (passing game coordinator) coach Cooley's office, ask him a coverage question, and Mike Jackson is in there at 6 in the morning, and they're going through some stuff," Evero laughed.

"So that just kind of talks to his preparation and what he does to get ready."

And some of it is simply finding the right partner. The relationship in a corner duo is unique. Two guys on an island, tethered to someone across the field, who must know how to read the other person's mind to avoid miscommunication, without being able to communicate at all when on the grass. A duo who is in sync without even looking at each other once the ball is snapped.

And in the case of Jackson and Horn, a duo who play the position arguably most defined by cockiness, being humble enough to listen to each other.

"We kind of already knew of each other; we trained together a couple of times in the past," Jackson said of himself and his partner. "And we both got a real strong work ethic, so it's kind of like I took some pieces of his game and applied to mine and vice versa, and I feel like that is what helped us.

"I admired his game from afar. We worked out a couple of times, but it was kind of like I know who I got on the other side of me. I just got to show what I can do."

Jackson did just that, finishing the season tied for third overall in the league with 17 passes defended. Horn finished with 13, a slightly smaller number thanks to teams not throwing his way as much and two fewer games played. His season was still impressive enough to make his first Pro Bowl, however. Part of the reason Horn was able to have the season he did was because Jackson was on the other side, holding down his side of the field as well.

"He's done a fantastic job," Canales said of Jackson. "I think Jaycee and Mike are like the number one tandem in terms of pass breakups."

That number is correct. Their combined total of 30 passes defended is the highest of any duo in the league. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph of the Lions are the next closest, who combined for 28 total.

Now comes the offseason dance. Jackson is a free agent, and both he and the Panthers will decide if this is where he needs to be next season as well. For Jackson's part, he remains cautiously optimistic.

"Yeah, for sure, I love it here. This is a place I love to be, but I also understand, like, in the league when it comes to this part, it's no feelings involved, so don't get your hopes up," he admitted on Monday.

Still, the possibility of building on his 2024, playing another year along Horn and a rebuilt Panthers defense, is one Mike Jackson isn't giving up hope on just yet.

"I definitely feel like it's something that we could even do more because we went the whole year without DB (Derrick Brown), without a lot of key pieces," said Jackson. "So I feel like we could definitely make a lot of plays together."