Panthers’ Julius Peppers overcame ‘skepticism’ to reach HOF

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers clung to a 10-7 lead over the Baltimore Ravens with 1:27 remaining in the 2002 season opener when blitzing Panthers rookie defensive end Julius Peppers deflected a pass into the hands of linebacker Dan Morgan.

The play ended a 15-game losing streak for the Panthers, who were coming off an NFL-worst 1-15 season.

For Peppers, it signaled he belonged in the NFL after the Panthers were questioned for making him the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, the beginning of a 17-year journey that has landed him in the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

“To make a big play at the end of the game gave me a big boost of confidence that I could do it,” Peppers said during a Zoom call on Wednesday.

The Panthers went on to post a 7-9 record, setting the stage for their run to Super Bowl XXXVIII the next season. They did it because of players such as Peppers, who had the “dawg mentality” that Morgan (now the general manager) wants in the current team as they come off an NFL-worst 2-15 record and six straight losing seasons.

Peppers sees that mentality in edge rusher Brian Burns and hopes Carolina keeps the two-time Pro Bowl selection, who will be a free agent if the Panthers don’t use the franchise tag on him.

“I think he’s one of the best,” said Peppers, the first player drafted by the Panthers to reach the Hall of Fame.

Peppers left Carolina following his eighth season, as the Panthers opted not to use the franchise tag on their 6-foot-7, 295-pound star for the second straight year when negotiations on a long-term deal failed.

Peppers doesn’t want to see that happen with Burns, with whom he exchanged texts earlier this week.

“He has all the tools,” Peppers said of the No. 16 pick of the 2019 draft. “He has all the talent. I hope they’re able to keep him. I hope they will keep him around for a long time.”

Peppers eventually returned to Carolina for his final two seasons (2017-18) after spending time with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. He finished with 159.5 sacks, which ranks fourth in NFL history behind Bruce Smith (200), Reggie White (198) and Kevin Greene (160).

It was actually Smith who told Peppers he is joining the HOF during a visit to his Miami home.

“What a tremendous athlete,” Smith said in a video capturing the moment, reminding that Peppers played basketball at North Carolina and put up tremendous stats on “bad football teams.”

Peppers doesn’t want to see the bad continue for the current team, and he believes Morgan is the right person to help turn things around.

“I have great confidence in Dan, as I did when I played [with him],” he said. “He was similar to Luke [Keuchly], where you see this nice, clean-cut guy off the field, but then when they get on the field, they turn into a whole new person that’s really fierce, that’s really passionate about the game.

“He was a great leader. He was a great communicator. He can handle it. It was a great choice to bring Dan in.”

Many questioned whether Peppers was a great draft choice in 2002. Critics had concerns over his work ethic and said quarterback Joey Harrington, who went No. 3 to the Detroit Lions, should have been the pick at No. 2.

Harrington had a 26-50 record as the starter for three teams and threw 85 interceptions to 79 touchdowns.

“We got absolutely murdered for not taking Joey Harrington,” said John Fox, who was in his first season as head coach. “People actually said we didn’t get the best D-lineman from Chapel Hill.”

He was referring to Ryan Sims, who went No. 6 overall to the Kansas City Chiefs and has been called one of the Chiefs’ worst draft busts. Sims played nine seasons, earned no postseason honors and had 8.5 career sacks.

“I’ve been blessed to coach some Hall of Famers, but none better [than Peppers],” Fox said.

Peppers calls Fox the person who pushed him the most and one of the people he’s considering to present him for the August HOF induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio.

“I learned so much from him and his staff,” Peppers said. “I came into a pretty good situation with great leaders, great men to learn from. I wasn’t saying a lot, because you know, you’re a rookie. Like, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Peppers never liked dealing with the media and has spoken more in the week since being named to the Hall than any period in his career because “this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

His focus always was on being one of the best and proving he was worthy of being such a high draft pick.

“There was a lot of doubt, a lot of skepticism … if I was worthy of being taken that high,” Peppers said. “I heard all of those things. That added a little bit of fire to me because I felt I should have went No. 1.”

And no, Peppers didn’t have concerns about going to his home state team that was in a rebuilding mode.

“I saw it as a challenge, as an opportunity to be a part of building something,” he said.

Peppers said those are the kind of players it will take to turn the current team around.

“Nobody wants to go to a [reigning] Super Bowl champion … I mean, I guess some people do,” Peppers said. “But you want guys who want to come in and work for it.

“We had a special group of guys that put in the work.”