CHARLOTTE — Bobby Brown III has known about Derrick Brown for a long time, even changed his number to 5 at Texas A&M to model after the former Auburn star, long before they met.

But upon coming to the Panthers this offseason, the new defensive tackle has learned about the duality of his new teammate and what it's like to be next to him on a daily basis.

"Oh man, he's a character, man; full of life," Bobby began with a laugh before his face turned serious. "But you know he's a hard worker, you know what I'm saying?

"While he's working, you're going to have fun, you're going to laugh. But it's real work in there."

Those four sentences might sum up the Derrick Brown experience the best, as long as you mix in the fact he made his first Pro Bowl in 2023 while setting an NFL record for tackles by a defensive lineman.

He's a dominant force on the field and as straight-faced as they come in interviews. But in that locker room, the meeting room, and the practice field, the laughs come as easily as the work is hard.

Between Derrick and fellow defensive lineman Shy Tuttle, there are no sacred cows in that herd, as they're constantly going back and forth.

"I didn't expect him to be as goofy as he is; I didn't expect that," Bobby said. "Him and Shy, they sit next to each other in meetings and everything, and all they do is talk trash, like all day every day during the workouts.

"They both call each other fat. Like they're both not over 300 pounds."

(This is a running bit, going back to the schedule release video from a year ago, when Tuttle painted his representation of his teammate, which was both large and in charge.)

That banter is contagious, and keeps the mood light throughout the long days.

"Shy and Derrick, they're like brothers, always bickering going back and forth, but it's hilarious, man," outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum said. "I'm here for it. When you're in the dog days and that kind of stuff, we need that. I mean, they're both big dudes, bro. So really, the fat jokes are wild. Because a fat dude calling another fat — I'm not saying that they're fat — but a big dude calling another big dude big, it's actually hilarious."

And like Bobby, Wonnum can quickly pivot to that other side of Brown that he sees from his vantage point, of how he can make an impact on an entire defense from inside.

"Oh my God, it makes my life a lot easier," Wonnum said. "Man, just having him back, he can do it all, he can rush. Obviously, he's a dominant run defender; he had over 100 tackles a couple of years ago. Just getting him back, man, it's going to propel us to be what we should have been. He adds that dog nature, adds that physicality to this line, and we know that nothing's coming his way."

Derrick is still working his way back from last year's knee injury, which cost him all but one game. While he was on the field this spring in a limited capacity, he was a constant presence verbally. Whether standing alongside coaches, or counseling young players, he's always visible. He's also working like a man possessed, and remains one of the strongest players on the team (as evidenced by throwing a medicine ball 23 feet in the air and getting it stuck on a ledge on the side of Bank of America Stadium).

So he's making his presence felt, but he's also surrounded by more and better people, which should help lift the entire group.

Derrick Brown will easily admit that looking at it from the outside last year was difficult and something he had to learn to do, but having been through that process, he sees a value in it as well.

"It's one of those things where you know I didn't like it," he said. "But at the same time, lacking in being able to physically do it, then it was just being there mentally for guys and just being around, showing face and just hanging out.

"I mean, that was a great thing for me and the team, and being able to get back to walking at a certain point and going back to the team meetings and stuff like that. Those were the milestones I was able to hit and think about all offseason."

Brown described the current group of linemen as "a bunch of selfless guys" who "just want to come out and work every single day."

They laugh a lot, but they're also working. That means they're following with what he's been doing every day.

"I mean, we're always looking to get better, man," he said. "It's one of those things where to be able to bring in those guys and add them to the group, it's been awesome.

"I mean, it's guys who want to go to work. I can deal with that all day long."

As long as they can, and they can take a joke, then they should fit in alongside Derrick Brown just fine.