Julius Peppers was always meant to play for his home state Carolina Panthers. Or was he? Peppers announced his retirement from the NFL on Friday after 17 remarkable years, ensuring he’ll be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame some day. Apparently, if John Fox had gotten his way, Peppers would likely be going into Canton in a different uniform.
According to former Panthers great Steve Smith, at the time Fox did not want to draft Peppers at No. 2 overall. Instead, he wanted to take Texas cornerback Quentin Jammer, instead. Apparently former owner Jerry Richardson had to step in and make sure that didn’t happen, per Matt Harmon.
Jammer wound up going to the Chargers with the fifth overall pick and had a respectable enough NFL career. He played in 183 games, posting 21 interceptions and 140 pass breakups. Jammer never made an appearance in the Pro Bowl, though and simply couldn’t compare to Peppers.
Fox had his moments as a head coach, helping two different teams get to the Super Bowl. However, this is a pretty clear indication that he had no business in team-building. Hats off to Mr. Richardson for making the right call and avoiding an all-time terrible draft decision.
