Carolina Panthers started their mandatory minicamp this week, where young defender D.J. Johnson sustained a right knee injury. Johnson, a former third-round pick, had to be carted off the field on Tuesday. He is now in his second year in the NFL after recording 16 tackles in 13 games during his rookie season. Last year, Johnson accumulated his first half-tackle for loss against the Miami Dolphins in October and followed it up with another tackle for loss the next week against the Houston Texans. The Panthers selected Johnson with the 80th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft from Oregon, making him one of their five picks alongside No. 1 overall selection Bryce Young. Johnson will be celebrating his 26th birthday in October.
The organisation is delaying first-round pick Xavier Legette this week due to an injury. Legette missed OTAs due to a hamstring issue, which he is now recovering from.
Minicamp is required and may run two or three days, depending on the availability of head coach Dave Canales. It’s going to go on till Wednesday. Players who fail to attend the required minicamp risk sanctions from the team.
As a true freshman with the Hurricanes, Johnson played in eight games after initially committing to Miami out of high school. These appearances included the Capital One Orange Bowl matchup with No. 6 Wisconsin and the 2017 ACC Championship game versus then-No. 1 Clemson.
Johnson was forced to sit out and redshirt the 2018 season in Eugene as he moved to Oregon prior to the implementation of the immediate transfer regulations. The next season, he played in 13 games for the Ducks and rapidly established himself as a key member of the squad. He was one of only two players in the nation to finish with at least seven tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and a forced fumble in a single game.
In 2020, Oregon made Johnson a hybrid two-way player, keeping him on the defensive end while also using his speed as an offensive tight end. Johnson was successful in this role, becoming one of the nation’s most versatile players, until Dan Lanning took over the programme and moved him back to defence.
Over the course of his six-year collegiate career, he recorded 9.0 sacks, 19.5 TFLs, and 67 tackles between the two programmes.
