‘He had it all’: Former Panthers rival HC weighs in on Julius Peppers’ dominant NFL career

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Julius Peppers’ road to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio was paved with dozens of miserable moments for his opponents from 2002 to 2018. Jon Gruden, who arrived in the NFC South the same year as Peppers’ rookie season with the Carolina Panthers, was on the receiving end of several of those setbacks for the opposite sideline.

Gruden — who was in town on Thursday as a guest speaker for the Charlotte Touchdown Club’s “Legends of the Game” series — remembers his battles with Peppers quite well. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach went against Peppers in 13 regular-season games from 2002 to 2008 as part of an NFC South rivalry.

In those games, Peppers produced an eye-popping 12.5 sacks with a pair of three-sack performances highlighting the battles.

“I take a lot of credit for him getting in the hall of fame — you know what I mean? Because it was our blocking schemes that he destructed,” Gruden said with a smile. “He was just a great player — not only a pass rusher. I know everybody’s looking at the stats, the sacks, the batted passes, the disruption, but his effort was what I think set him apart.

“We had a play one year here in Charlotte, where Michael Pittman had a breakout run. I swear, it’s right on our sideline, Pittman is going to score, and Peppers ran him down from behind. But his effort and his consistency and the fact that he stayed healthy and he was such a great athlete — John Fox knew how to use him.”

Peppers, 44, will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. After producing 159.5 total sacks with the Panthers, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears over 17 seasons, Peppers will be enshrined alongside former Carolina greats Sam Mills and Kevin Greene.

Gruden saw Peppers’ rise firsthand. From 2002 second overall pick to perennial Pro Bowl selection, the Bailey, North Carolina, native turned into one of the game’s greatest pass rushers of all-time.

“He had great versatility, great effort and just a great career because he stayed healthy and he was in the right scheme surrounded by really good players,” Gruden told The Observer. “Kris Jenkins didn’t hurt, (Mike) Rucker didn’t hurt either. I mean, that was a formidable front and I’m happy for Peppers — he was one of the great ones we went up against.”

Gruden got to know Peppers a bit more during the former head coach’s time at ESPN as an analyst. But Peppers remained a man of few words, even as Gruden transitioned into media, so the former head coach is looking forward to hearing what the pass rusher has to say at his induction this weekend.

“I’m just anxious to hear Peppers speak, see what he says,” Gruden said. “I never heard him say a word. He was always a real quiet, 10 words-or-less, humble guy. Even when I was doing Monday Night Football, covering him when he was with the Bears, he never really seemed to change. He just stayed centered, he was grounded and one of the rare athletes that I’ve ever seen play football. You just think about the (North Carolina Tar Heels) basketball background. You know, he just — he had it all.

“I wish somebody else would have drafted him, personally.”