But for all his individual brilliance, Peppers also preferred to fit in, even when talking about coming to the Panthers as the No. 2 overall pick in 2002 and immediately helping turn the league’s worst defense in 2001 to one of the best and helping lift them from 1-15 to a Super Bowl appearance in two short years.
There was a lot of attention on him as there always was, but he was content to be part of a larger whole, fitting in with teammates like Dan Morgan (now the Panthers GM), Mike Rucker, Kris Jenkins, Brentson Buckner, Mike Minter, and others.
“It was fun. Those days were just fun,” Peppers said of his beginnings. “It wasn’t really about the stats to me; I wasn’t even concerned about where we ranked. We were not like that; it was all fun at the time, like passion and love for the game. And it was a collective, including myself, Dan, the linebackers, even Will Witherspoon, and the guys on the back end like Deon Grant; it was kind of a team of unknowns, really.
“Nobody really knew you on a national scale; nobody knew about us. I knew I knew the guys individually, so it was fun being in that kind of position.”
Peppers might try to choose anonymity, but that’s always been difficult for him. People his size who move the way he does are rare. At 6-foot-7 and around 300 pounds (and still able to run 4.7-second 40s), he was always going to stand out in a sport of giants, especially when he started intercepting things with one hand and returning them for touchdowns.
The sheer physical dimensions made him unique, and what he did with it made it more so.
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