We’re counting down the days until the Panthers open up the 2025 season!
In this series, we’ll be counting down until opening kickoff by running through the Panthers roster by jersey number. Today’s piece looks at the current and historical players to have ever donned No. 52 for the Carolina Panthers.
Current Player: DJ Johnson
Johnson (6’4”, 260 lbs) is a much maligned edge player that the Panthers traded up in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft to select. The former Miami Hurricane and Oregon Duck has played quite well against the run in his young NFL career. The main disappointment for most Panthers fans is the combined 0.5 sacks in two full seasons despite getting a decent number of snaps. Johnson’s time may be dwindling as he is already 26 years old and the Panthers just spent a bunch of money and draft capital on defensive line and edge rusher. He’ll likely have to take a big step forward from a pass rushing point to cement a spot on the roster at this point.
Notable Previous Players to Wear Number 52: Jon Beason, Chris Draft, Matt Elliott
Beason was the middle player in a trio of dominant middle linebackers the Panthers used a first round pick on for almost 20 years. Current GM Dan Morgan’s injury history led to him going to the New Orleans Saints and eventually retiring in 2007, which is when the Panthers selected Beason. Beason then famously lost his middle linebacker spot to Luke Kuechly after injury problems of his own. Chris Draft wore the 52 for Carolina before Beason. Draft started his career being drafted by the Chicago Bears. He spent time with the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons before joining the Panthers. Draft was in Carolina for two seasons, including being a starter for the defense in 2006. Matt Elliott was the first player to don the 52 for the team, and his is an interesting story. He spent one season in Washington after being drafted in the 12th round in 1992 before being out of the league for three seasons. When the Panthers were created, Elliott was brought in and ended up being a starter on the offensive line in 1995 and 1996.