Pro Football Weekly and Riddell present ...
2002 NFL draft
Panthers ‘D’ up
Peppers is the right pick for Carolina
By Mike Holbrook, Managing editor of special projects
April 20, 2002
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| It’s no surprise that Carolina’s new head coach John Fox has
decided to start his team’s rebuilding with North Carolina DE Julius Peppers. Fox was
a well-respected defensive coordinator for the Giants before taking the helm in Carolina,
and I’m sure he wants to improve the Panthers on the defensive side of the ball first
and foremost. Peppers is a gifted pass rusher who is still maturing as a football
player. He’s got a great motor and is tremendously athletic. I think this is a great
pick for a franchise in desperate need of playmakers all over the field. The fact that
Peppers is still learning the game after splitting time between basketball and football
prior to this past year has to be viewed as a positive — there’s still a
lot of upside for Fox and his coaching staff to tap into.
Look at the facts: Carolina won only one game a year ago. When you’re that bad,
you need to try to improve in many areas. However, the Panthers do have some talent on the
defensive side of the ball in DRE Mike Rucker, who had nine sacks last year, DT Sean
Gilbert, MLB Dan Morgan and free-agent pickup OLB Mark Fields. Add in Peppers, who should
improve the pass rush, and that will help a questionable secondary.
I’ve got to think a lot of people in Carolina are happy today about the Peppers
pick. And I don’t just mean coaches and staff members. The Panthers’ franchise
has been in freefall ever since losing the 1996 NFC championship game. By keeping such a
highly rated prospect at home — Peppers is a Wilson, N.C., native — the Panthers
are sending a positive message to their fans and supporters that they are on the way back.
Peppers should be a player who the Panthers will be able to market and promote as the face
of a rebuilding team.
I’m confident that Fox and his staff will be able to get through to Peppers and
teach him techniques that will make him a pass-rushing force, much like Fox was able to do
with Michael Strahan in New York. The knock on Peppers is that he is raw and inconsistent,
not playing every down hard. If he’s motivated to be the best he can be, those two
problems will take care of themselves.
So, Carolina fans should be happy with this pick. Remember, Peppers was considered the
No. 1 player available for a time following the college season. It was only in the last
few weeks that QB David Carr emerged as the expansion Texans’ top pick. That means
Carolina is in effect getting a No. 1 talent. Not a bad foundation for Fox and his staff. |
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