GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers signed D.J. Johnson, a third-round pick by the Panthers in 2023, to their practice squad, a source told Packers On SI.

Johnson was among five players who worked out for the team; the Packers opted to sign the former top-100 draft pick with some starting experience.

Johnson had six sacks and 8.5 tackles for losses as a sixth-year senior at Oregon. He had a huge Scouting Combine, where he measured 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds and ran his 40 in 4.49 seconds.

DJ Johnson is a LB prospect in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 8.32 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 414 out of 2465 LB from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/QDFPqcGcCh #RAS pic.twitter.com/WFxDEOPN78

— RAS.football (@MathBomb) March 19, 2023

“Power merchant with jarring initial hand strikes that can create early advantages,” was the start of Lance Zeirlein’s scouting report at NFL.com. “Johnson is big, explosive and rugged but lacking the experience and technique to consistently capitalize on his physicality.

“He has broad, tight hips that make it challenging to keep the pad level where it needs to be as a rusher, tackler and while taking on run blocks. He has very few moves or counters, but his bull rush can put opponents on skates. There is significant technique work that needs to take place, but his NFL Scouting Combine testing should only help his draft stock.”

Two-Way Player at Oregon

Johnson even played a little tight end at Oregon. He switched sides of the ball for the 2020 season and finished with 10 catches for 113 yards and three touchdowns. At the time, linebacker Troy Dye called Johnson a “freak of nature” because of his size and athleticism.

After not playing a single snap on defense that season, he played on both sides of the ball in 2021 and then focused on defense in 2022 and finished with an excellent final season.

He will play on the edge for the Packers.

“It was definitely a nice thing to play in that position,” Johnson said after being drafted. “Allowed me to gain experience in doing stuff like that, where previously I might not have been able to do that primarily just playing defense. Being able to have experience on offense and defense, both physically and mentally. Being able to take the offensive and defensive play book at the same time definitely has prepared me for where I'm at now.”

For the Panthers, Johnson played in 13 games with three starts as a rookie and 14 games with two starts in 2024, when he had the only sack production (one-half sack) of his career but recorded 44 tackles. He was released after four games in 2025 and hasn’t played in a game since.

“I definitely feel like my best football is ahead of me,” he said after the Panthers traded up to draft him. “I have always taken a lot of steps from the end of the season to now to prepare and get better. I have been watching a lot of film from last year. Fixing little technique things, bad eye things. Then working on things like polishing your pass rush of your striking in the get-off.”

This year, he spent training camp with the Commanders but failed to make their 53-man roster. He spent the first two weeks of the season on their practice squad.

Johnson is from the same draft class from which the Packers drafted Lukas Van Ness in the first round. He was selected at No. 80 overall, two picks after Green Bay landed Tucker Kraft.

“There was a run of pass rushers that went,” then-Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said at the time. “We were aggressive. You never want to force need, but this is a 6-4 260-pound guy that ran 4.4. He's got rare traits. And with our staff and the conviction that EJ [Eviro Evero] and Dom [Capers], and our coaching staff had with him, the way our scouts felt about him, there's a ton of development with him.

“His upside is huge. Once he settles in and gets the coaching, this guy can be a force off the edge. I think his best ball is in front of him.”

Don't Fight D.J. Johnson

At Oregon, a teammate called Johnson the player he’d least like to fight.

“I think it's a mutual respect thing,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “It's also a testament to my work. They see how much work I put in, the numbers I put up lifting and running. To see someone my size that athletic, that fast, that strong, you maybe want to stay clear of him.” 

He said Khalil Mack and Myles Garrett were his favorite players to watch.

“I love the way they attack guys in one-on-one situations,” he said. “I've seen Khalil Mack beat three guys and still get the sack. When you watch guys like that giving that much effort, you have to unload. You have no other option.”

Johnson’s brother, P.J., a nose tackle, was drafted by the Lions in 2019.

“He’s a quiet and reserved person,” P.J. told The Athletic. “He’s a hard worker, but if you ask him about himself, he’ll tell you that he’s the best. Even when stuff isn’t going his way, he thinks he’s the best because he works for it. He knows he’s going to outwork everybody.”

From @JacobWestendorf, here is his always-strong breakdown of the matchups as we start looking ahead to Packers-Patriots. ⬇️https://t.co/Wjtat6us0H

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 3, 2026