Peppers is a first-ballot Hall of Famer who leads the seven-member Class of 2024. Patrick Willis, Andre Johnson, Devin Hester, Dwight Freeney, Steve McMichael, and Randy Gradishar will join Peppers in Canton, Ohio, in August.
The Carolina Panthers have four Hall of Famers, but Peppers will be the first player picked by the organization. He was the second overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft out of North Carolina (after the failed first-round pick, QB David Carr) and was named Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Peppers would go on to play ten seasons for the Panthers, spending four in Chicago and three in Green Bay in between stints in Charlotte. He was named to the Pro Bowl nine times, made the All-Pro First Team three times, the All-Pro Second Team three times, and was the NFC Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. Peppers has the fourth-most sacks in NFL history, with 159.5, the second-most forced fumbles (52), and 11 interceptions. Ladies and gentlemen, the combination of statistics is ridiculous.
Julius Peppers redshirted his rookie year at UNC before breaking out. He recorded 177 tackles, 30.5 sacks, 53 tackles for loss, 5 interceptions, and 5 forced fumbles for the Tar Heels. In 2001, he was a unanimous first-team All-American and received the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s best defensive player.
Let’s not forget that Julius Peppers spent two seasons with the Carolina basketball team, helping Bill Guthridge’s 1999-2000 team reach the Final Four. While his basketball stats (5.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg) were not as outstanding as his football stats, Peppers was more than simply a mascot. As you would imagine, he was a physical presence in the paint and helped keep rival front courts in check, especially when Brendan Haywood and Kris Lang were in foul trouble.
