CHARLOTTE — So much has changed about Derrick Brown this offseason, at least from the outside.

From his perspective, nothing has really changed at all.

Maybe that's the reason people are starting to see it.

The Panthers defensive tackle is finally beginning to get the recognition he's deserved as one of the top defensive players in the game. Something about setting a league record for your position will do that.

It might be coming more slowly from the outside — as he pushed through the anonymity of a 2-15 team to make his first Pro Bowl — but that recognition is coming.

It's been mostly been internal this offseason, from the long-term contract extension the team gave him in April, to being named team captain for the first time in a vote of his teammates this week. But people are beginning to realize Derrick Brown has moved to another level.

For Brown, nothing has really changed at all.

"Man, to be honest, I don't think I'm that guy," Brown said. "It's one of those things where I'm trying to get ready for the season, just putting my head down and going to work. I feel like I've got a lot left and I'd like to get the longevity out of this game and do wonders and win games here.

"So, yeah, I'm just as focused as I was my first year to now."

It sounds so simple when he says it that way, but it has become very obvious from his first year to now that Derrick Brown is different.

The differences that become apparent on the field on Sundays are born much earlier, perhaps from the day he was born.

Panthers center Austin Corbett laughed and said Brown's ascension began with his DNA — since not many people have his size and strength or can move the way he does. But the difference shows up in the weight room during the cold months of the offseason. They lift together often, and Corbett marvels as a teammate at the physical gifts and the way he works and shakes his head at the idea of having to face it as an opponent.

"You add the IQ, the athleticism, strength, just to his overall size, just like, gosh dang it, what am I supposed to do?" Corbett said. "Even if I beat your first move, all you can do is take a couple of steps forward, and you're still pushing me. It's unbelievable strength.

"We lift together pretty often and it's just like, I've got to kind of hide. Like, I'm working hard here, and he's just kind of going through his reps; I don't even know if he knows what his true maxes are. He can just do whatever. All right, Derrick, I get it; it must be nice. He's a five-star athlete, but he works so hard and has that IQ. To put it all together, it's like, just give me a break, man."

But the breaks are few for Brown, as they have to be if you want to reach the level he wants to be at. People his size aren't supposed to play nearly 90 percent of the total snaps in a season. But that's not something that just happens during the fall. So that's why he's always here and always leading the work. During OTAs, players go through a series of sprints at the beginning of practice as they're warming up. Sprinting is not the game of a 330-ish-pound person, but every day, Brown was at the front of the line, and that presence was the kind of thing people noticed.

"It's the work ethic of guys like Derrick Brown, you know, our best players happen to be our hardest workers," rookie head coach Dave Canales said. "And so it doesn't leave a lot of space for the rest of the group to kind of pick and choose what they're going to do. They've just got to go; they've got to go hard, they've got to work at it, the individual drills and all that stuff."

Even the other known grinders in the building look at Brown with nods of respect, recognizing what he's putting into this thing. Veteran right tackle Taylor Moton, who's about to start his 100th straight game this week and who hasn't missed a snap in six years, said he's glad people are starting to realize Brown is that guy.

"I'm really happy for him; he works so hard, day in and day out," Moton said. "He's a great person, and he just obviously shows up in his play week in and week out.

"Plus his humility. I mean, for him to have had the season he had last year and then to continue to come in and work and still try to change his best. I mean, I think it's very admirable."

The understated guys, the quiet guys who work, have that bond. Moton has seen it every day since Brown was drafted in the first round in 2020. But even the newcomers recognize in a hurry what Brown is all about.

The Panthers have brought in a number of defensive players from the Rams the last couple of years, and those guys all played with recently retired defensive tackle Aaron Donald. He's one of those one-of-one players, a 280-pound bomb going off in the middle of the line, to the tune of 111.0 sacks in 10 seasons from a position not conducive to getting sacks. He's a future Hall of Famer, and everyone is careful to say that there is no other Aaron Donald. But for those who have seen them both up close, there are some similarities.

"I think they both come to work every day, some of the hardest-working people," veteran nickel Troy Hill said during a break in a locker room card game with Brown. "So I think they kind of both have that same approach in that aspect of the game.

"Aaron is in his own category. But DB, he's definitely one of the top guys, one of the best at the position, if not the best right now at the position. You know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I see a lot of the same qualities," safety Nick Scott said. "The biggest thing about those two guys is their ability to wreck a game, right? Or wreck a play or drive. That shows up in camp. DB, one thing that he's extremely good at that can't be taken lightly is batting balls down. That's like a skill set. And to me that's the same thing as getting a pressure on the quarterback."

Having played with Donald, Scott's not about to minimize his impact. No one is suggesting that Brown's on that level yet.

"Obviously, you don't want to compare, but there's not too many differences between them other than the fact that DB's got about 60 or 80 pounds on AD," Scott said. "I'm sure if Derrick was a little lighter, he'd be moving faster, too. But it's exciting just to have that kind of guy who can wreck a game like that."

Defensive end A'Shawn Robinson also recognized it when he walked in the door and realized what Brown was about.

"Yes, sir, they're on the same accord," Robinson said. "Of wanting to do s--- the right way, wanting things to be done, being the best player, doing things right. Holding the guys to the standard and holding the group to the standard, you know. And holding himself to a higher standard and showing it. Not just talking about it, just showing it."

Of course, the difference between the two remains. Donald's a three-time defensive player of the year and a 10-time Pro Bowler. Brown's only beginning to get any kind of recognition outside his home market.

He finally got to his first Pro Bowl last season after setting a new league record for tackles by a defensive lineman with 103. Playing for a 2-15 team didn't help, obviously. But when the NFL Network started rolling out that Top 100 list as a way to fill the summer programming void, Brown's teammates kept waiting to see his name called.

"He didn't make it?" cornerback Jaycee Horn said, incredulously. "Yeah, it is kind of surprising because didn't he break a record? I feel like that's got a lot to do with winning and losing and a popularity vote.

"But we know what type of player Derrick is. We know he brings his defense. I'm upset for him that he didn't make it, but at the end of the day, it don't affect how we think of him. We know he's a top 100 player in this league."

Veteran outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney put it more succinctly.

"That's some bulls---," he said.

Clowney's been on six teams, and played with some all-timers. He's been teammates with guys such as JJ Watt, Myles Garrett, Jeffery Simmons, Bobby Wagner, Nnamdi Madubuike and others. He's seen some things and knows what a star looks like.

So, walking in the door this offseason, he was immediately impressed by Brown and eager to work alongside him.

"The guy comes to practice every day and prepares like a pro and works like a guy that's just looking for a job and not a guy that just got $96 million," Clowney said. "I just think he's just been unappreciated, unrecognized. I don't know why. I think he should have been All-Pro last year.

"I told him since I've been here, I like the way you come to work. You are always running to that ball; you hustle, and to be 330-something pounds, it's like you make it look effortless. I'm a big fan and I'm just happy to be beside somebody like him. A dog like that makes my life easier."

Clowney mentioned Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence as a comp, and he comes up often, another large man who can move. And even among large men, the recognition that Derrick Brown deserves to be in that conversation is clear.

"There may only be two guys in the world that can do those things," equivalently gigantic guard Robert Hunt said. "He's actually really fast to be that size. I'm a fan. He's a big athletic freak, man. He's a beast. You've got to be so technically perfect because he can overwhelm you physically. You have to be perfect. That's the thing. He makes me work on things. Usually I can just go out there, and I'm a big guy, just go. With him, he's a big guy, and he's doing the same thing I'm doing, which is shocking.

"That's why I'm so excited to play with him and like watch him play every time he's out there. I was excited to see him practice against the Jets. I was excited to see him go against these guys just because I go against him every day, and I want to see what he's doing to those guys."

Those other guys recognize what Brown's doing on and off the field. And over time, other people are beginning to recognize it too.

Long snapper JJ Jansen has been here longer than anyone, so he's seen how time changes the perceptions of players. And he's seen players grow. So, as he's watched Brown develop every day over the last four years, he's seen the subtle differences.

Brown has always been big and strong and fast, but he's also grown into more of a leader, more of a presence around here. Jansen played with legends like Julius Peppers and Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis, so he's seen it before — players who were seemingly born stars and guys growing into those roles. And what he's seen over the last year from Brown is more of a willingness to open up, to show a human side.

Brown's not a talker, but his sidekick Shy Tuttle is, and Jansen noted that watching their interplay shows a different side of Brown's leadership.

"What I find really impressive about what Derrick has done is he is not an overly silly or talkative person," Jansen said. "Where I've seen the leadership come from is two parts. The first is he is being vocal in his own way. He's not being loud. It's a very steady, hey, we've got to go do this, and he does it. The second piece, and I think this is so important is the value of a guy like Shy Tuttle who pokes at him and teases him and ribs him and makes people pile on him. Derrick is very serious, and Shy is very silly. So, the yin and yang; I always think it is very valuable to be able to laugh at your leaders.

"You're not belittling them, but you want to be able to poke at them and make them more human, right? And that's the beauty. Thomas was a very serious guy. He was very vocal; Cam would make fun of him. Josh (Norman) might make fun of him. Charles Johnson might make fun of him. There was enough little poking, and even if Thomas didn't like it, he could accept it. He could take it, and he realized that was probably good for the team. So when he got up and he yelled and screamed and all that stuff, guys would make fun of him later. But in the moment they knew that was serious and I think that is really valuable. You've got to be able to make fun of your best players."

As long as Tuttle is around, there is no danger of Brown going unchecked.

"Well, he's an a--hole. We can start there," Tuttle said with a laugh when asked what it's like to work with Brown on a daily basis.

(This is their relationship. That stands as high praise. You should have seen these two painting portraits of each other.)

But for all the laughter, there's also a baseline of respect that's clear, having been through hard things together.

"Listen, last season was tough," Tuttle said. "But it wasn't really, coming to the D-line room. I looked forward to that every day, seeing him work."

Tuttle's also been around other great players, spending his first four years with the Saints. So he developed an appreciation for Brown from afar, which only grew when they grew closer.

"Listen, he is probably the most in-shape human being of his size I've ever seen, and it's crazy," Tuttle said. "He's so strong, and he's probably one of the hardest-playing guys I've ever played with. To be honest, it's very impressive. Like from the house, you can see it if you're just watching football. If I'm blind, I can see how hard he's playing. So it's very impressive. Him being his size, his strength, his athleticism. It's crazy.

"So definitely guys are looking up to him and to lead. He's more vocal than you think for sure, but he's definitely a lead-by-example guy, that's just who he is."

For all the things Brown is great at, talking about himself is not high on the list. Where Tuttle is gregarious, Brown turns inward. And that's fine; that's his personality. But even he's starting to recognize the subtle shift and the responsibility he has around this place these days. It's what he does and who he is, and he accepts it.

He doesn't show up early or run at the front of the pack because he's trying to get noticed; he does it because he wants to continue to build for himself and this team.

"This is kind of who I am. I love the work. So being at the front has never been a problem for me," Brown said. "I just think, in my head, it's one of those things where once I get started, man, you've got to finish. From the time we step on the field in April to the time we walk off in January, it's all about getting better, and bringing the best of myself, and giving this team the best 95 that they can have."

Slowly, the world is beginning to catch on that the best 95 ought to be recognized as one of the best. But when they voted him captain this week, his teammates recognized that his best is what he's been putting in all offseason, yet again.