Julius Peppers, one of the greatest players to ever don a Tar Heel Football uniform, went on to enjoy a Hall-of-Fame career in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.
Peppers’ list of college accolades is impressive – a nation-leading 15 sacks in 2000, first-team All-ACC, first-team Freshman All-America, to name a few.
Peppers, drafted second overall in the 2002 draft by the Panthers, went on to enjoy a NFL career plenty worthy of a Hall of Fame spot.
Until Peppers hears his name called, he’s earning an off-the-field accolade that many former Carolina Panthers dream of – being inducted, along with former teammate Muhsin Muhammad, into the Panthers’ Hall of Honor.
Peppers, who embodies everything it means to be a Carolina Panther, made an immediate impact from the time he first donned the black and Panther blue.
In his first regular-season NFL game (Sept. 8, 2002), Peppers deflected a pass that ultimately led to the game-winning score against the Baltimore Ravens. He followed that up with a 3-sack, one forced fumble outing in his second NFL game.
Where does @juliuspeppers_ rank among the all-time great @Panthers? 🌶️
(via @NFLLegacy) pic.twitter.com/n6AvGsU00q
— NFL (@NFL) July 10, 2023
Peppers’ second NFL season included a trip to the Super Bowl, which the Panthers lost to the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots. He finished Year 2 with 37 solo tackles, seven sacks, three forced fumbles and a blocked kick.
Across his 17-year career, Peppers finished with 716 tackles, 159.5 sacks (fourth all-time), and 51 forced fumbles (second all-time). Peppers is the only player in league history with 150+ sacks and 10+ interceptions.
He won the 2002 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, earned nine Pro Bowl honors (five in Carolina) and three first-team All-Pro selections.
The eye-popping number on Peppers’ resume isn’t his statistical production – it’s his durability. Peppers played 266 games, the sixth-most by a defensive player in NFL history.
With a list of former Panther teammates Steve Smith, Sam Mills, Jake Delhomme, Jordan Gross, and Wesley Walls already in the Hall of Honor, Peppers is joining a great group of players who helped form the identity of the NFL team Carolina calls home.
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