The Carolina Panthers took a lot of people by surprise when they traded up in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft to select Oregon pass rusher, DJ Johnson.
Most viewed Johnson as a clear day three pick considering how inexperienced he was playing the position and how little production he had. Johnson put together a strong senior campaign tallying 39 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and six sacks but it took until his final year of college ball to get on the radar of NFL scouts.
When you look at the combination of size, speed, strength, and overall athleticism Johnson possesses, it's easy to see why Scott Fitterer wanted to roll the dice on him. The biggest concern outside of just one year of production is his age. Next month, Johnson will be turn 25 years old. For reference, he's just a few months younger than fellow pass rusher Brian Burns, who is in his fifth year in the league.
Why does it matter? Because at some point, a player is going to hit his ceiling and if a prospect hasn't shown much promise and is already in his mid 20s, teams typically move on from said player. Meanwhile, Johnson is just getting started. Well, not technically.
Through the first three games of his rookie season, Johnson has been inactive and considered a healthy scratch for that matter.
Why is this?
"We've been really blessed. We have a lot of good players at that position," said defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. "Justin [Houston], Brian [Burns], Yetur [Gross-Matos] has been playing really well, [Amare] Barno. He's doing a great job. I would just say that. I like where he is. I like the progress he's making. It's just a matter of him finding those opportunities. There's always fluctuations and it's week by week, so we'll see what happens."
A lot of it does have to do with Yetur Gross-Matos being able to offer more versatility (right now) and the fact that he has actually played well above preseason expectations.
"He's done a great job," Evero said of Gross-Matos. "Start off, he's on the edge, he's an outside backer. He's going to play defensive end for us in our nickel package. He can rush. He can set the edge. He can play the run game. He's done all those things really well. And when you look at those known passing situations when you just try to get your best rusher out there regardless of position, his ability to move inside and show that flexibility to work all those pass games inside - he's done a great job of learning it. He's been really good for our team."
The other part of it is the Panthers knew Johnson was going to be a bit of a project. He began his career as a defensive end before flipping over to the offensive side of the ball to play tight end for a couple seasons. He missed those crucial developmental years in college and is having to make up for it now with the Panthers' staff. It's not time to be overly concerned about Johnson just yet, but if he doesn't see the field in some capacity over the next four or so games, then it would be time to start questioning his long-term future with the team.
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