In 2005, Peppers was named by the Rocky Mount Telegram newspaper as one of the 50 Greatest Athletes from the Twin County (Nash and Edgecombe) area.

[citation needed] Peppers attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he played defensive end for the Tar Heels from 1998 to 2001.

Peppers led the nation with 15 quarterback sacks during his sophomore season (2000),[11] and earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and second-team All-American honors.

In the NCAA Tournament, Peppers scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a loss to Penn State in the second round.

[22] Peppers was a highly regarded prospect coming into the 2002 NFL draft earning comparisons to Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor for his ability to dominate a football game.

[31] In Peppers' second career NFL game, which came on September 15, against the Detroit Lions, he lived up to his billing with three sacks and a forced fumble for Carolina.

[36] With four games remaining in the season, Peppers was suspended for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy for taking a banned dietary supplement.

[37] In Peppers second season, he was part of a defensive line that included Brentson Buckner, Kris Jenkins, and Mike Rucker.

[44] Peppers and Donovan McNabb were the only people to ever play in both the NCAA men's basketball Final Four and the NFL's Super Bowl.

[59] His other three-sack effort came against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16, in this game Peppers recorded eight tackles, one pass defensed, and one blocked kick.

[62] In the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, Peppers was part of defensive effort that held scoreless the New York Giants offense that ranked third in the NFL in points per game.

[64] In the NFC Championship, against the Seattle Seahawks Peppers played with a hurt shoulder, but recorded six tackles, one being for a loss of yards, but the Panthers lost 34–14.

In the game, Peppers made an athletic play when Browns fullback Lawrence Vickers took a handoff right but pulled up to pass the ball.

[87] The Panthers made the playoffs after the 2008 NFL regular season but lost in the Divisional Round to the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 33–13.

Peppers began the season well by recording 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass defensed, and 1 blocked kick in a Week 1, 38–10 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles.

[105] Peppers made an immediate impact in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions by sacking quarterback Matthew Stafford and forcing a fumble with 29 seconds to go in the first half.

[108] Peppers blocked a field goal that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game as the Bears went on to defeat the Packers by three points by a score of 20–17.

[109] In Week 5, Peppers went back to his home state to play against his former team, the Carolina Panthers,[110] a game in which he and the Bears won by a score of 23–6.

[111] In Week 11 against the Miami Dolphins, Peppers recorded his first three-sack performance as a member of the Chicago Bears, he finished the game with six tackles, three sacks, and one pass deflection that was intercepted.

[115][116] Peppers finished fourth in voting for the NFL's 2010 AP Defensive Player of the Year Award, which was won by Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.

[126] In Week 17 facing the Vikings, Peppers was awarded a half-sack by the league, that he originally split with fellow Bears defensive lineman Matt Toeaina, giving him his 100th career sack making him the twenty eighth player in NFL history to achieve that milestone.

[133][134] In Week 16, in a 28–13 win against the Arizona Cardinals, Peppers recorded five tackles, three sacks, one stuff, one forced fumble, and one pass defensed making it the ninth time in his career that he had recorded at least three sacks in a game, for his efforts Peppers earned his fifth career NFC Defensive Player of the Week Award.

[140] On June 5, 2013 Profootballtalk.com named Julius Peppers to their Carolina Panthers Mount Rushmore as one of the teams most significant players in franchise history.

[161] In the Divisional Round against the Dallas Cowboys, Peppers had dominant performance by leading the Packers in tackles on the day with six, sacking Dallas quarterback Tony Romo and forcing a fumble on the third play of the game, then drew a holding penalty, and later forced a fumble of running back DeMarco Murray in the third quarter on a play where Murray seemed to have a clear run to the end zone.

[174] Before the season started, the top three living NFL sack leaders of all time, Bruce Smith, Kevin Greene, and Chris Doleman all said that Julius Peppers should be a Hall of Famer once he retires.

Peppers finished the game with three tackles, one sack, two quarterback hits, and two passes defended helping the Packers beat the Giants by a score of 38–13 and advance to the Divisional Round against the Dallas Cowboys.

[187] In week 2 and in his homecoming game in Charlotte, North Carolina at Bank of America Stadium, Peppers recorded six tackles and two sacks as the Panthers defeated the Buffalo Bills by a score of 9–3.

[193] In Week 6 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Peppers recorded his 150th career sack, making him the fifth player in NFL history to achieve that milestone.

[195] In Week 8 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Peppers recorded his 151st sack, moving him past Chris Doleman for fourth most all-time.

[208] Peppers finished his legendary NFL career with 716 total tackles and 159.5 sacks (fourth most all-time – trailing only Bruce Smith (200), Reggie White (198) and Kevin Greene (160).