We haven’t seen much from Carolina Panthers outside linebacker DJ Johnson thus far. In fact, the most buzz that’s come out of the early portions of his rookie campaign may be from this video at Wednesday’s practice . . .
DJ Johnson 1v1 David Sharpe and JD DiRenzo pic.twitter.com/GGDrGkSEVJ
— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) October 11, 2023
So, uh, yeah . . . we’re not off to a hot start.
But on Thursday, special teams coordinator Chris Tabor spoke a bit about Johnson’s contributions on his unit.
“Last few weeks, he’s played well,” Tabor said. “He’s playing physical. And the thing I really like about DJ—I think we’re tryin’ to play him in spots that kinda translates into his outside-linebacking world. And he’s accepted that and has really taken a lot of pride in that. So hopefully, he just kinda keeps gettin’ better each week.”
In what was perceived as a questionable decision at the time, the Panthers traded up into the third round of the 2023 NFL draft to select the (very raw) University of Oregon product with the 80th overall pick. That decision has, perhaps, become even more questionable—especially considering he’s only played in 36 total snaps through five weeks.
After not getting into the season opener in Atlanta, Johnson would be a healthy scratch over the next two outings. He’s since recorded 17 looks on defense and 19 on special teams between Weeks 4 and 5, and Tabor took notice this past Sunday.
“Well, he showed a lot of physicality playin’ last week in Detroit,” Tabor added. “I know I talked a lot about Detroit’s core, and they were very physical, really good. But he did really well on kick return. Just playin’ physical, gettin’ in the doubles and just finishin’ blocks. That’s where I was really pleased.
“I said it on the headset. I said our little young player, there’s a look in his eye today that he’s getting better and he’s growing. So I was very excited to see that and hopefully we can build on that this week.”
