In Week 4, the Carolina Panthers’ defense regressed to their regular dismal performance against the New England Patriots. As it turned out, this was the tipping point for one of the previous regime’s most egregious draft mistakes.
Ejiro Evero smashed the table hard for D.J. Johnson. General manager Dan Morgan was also in the draft room as Scott Fitterer’s right hand man in 2023, when the Panthers moved up to No. 80 overall to gain his services. This surprised the league because the athlete was expected to be a Day 3 pick owing to his age and spotty collegiate performance.
Fitterer scared as other edge rushers started dropping off his board. Evero and others gave Johnson their seal of approval. Just three years later, the former Oregon standout was declared surplus to requirements.
Carolina Panthers finally cut their D.J. Johnson experiment short after one failure too many
After another poor effort at Gillette Stadium, the Panthers had had enough. Johnson was waived, making him the collateral damage of another terrible performance that raised more questions than answered. There were few tears shed among the fans, as the player had not exactly won over the Carolina faithful by failing to meet expectations.
First and foremost, Johnson is not actually to blame. He did not beg to be a third-round pick, which the Panthers moved up to get. That elevated the bar to a level he couldn’t reach, and the indicators were obvious right away. He applied almost no consistent pressure to opposition quarterbacks. There were some good moments against the run, but it wasn’t consistent enough.
This offseason, Johnson’s fate was clear. Carolina selected Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen. They signed Patrick Jones II as a free agent. He made the roster after apparently having a terrific summer, although the leash was extremely short.
Johnson cannot be relied on. That is the long and short of it, basically. What the future holds for the player is anyone’s guess, but the Panthers were correct to discontinue this experiment prematurely.