NFL Draft: Carolina Panthers take Georgia OT Monroe Freeling in 2026 first round
The Carolina Panthers added a talented athlete to their offensive line depth chart Thursday during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
With the 19th overall pick, Carolina selected Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling. The 6-foot-7, 315-pound offensive tackle will join a position room that already features veteran starters Taylor Moton, Rob Hunt and Damien Lewis. Freeling, 21, is the first offensive tackle selected by the Panthers in the first round since Ickey Ekwonu in 2022.
“Best player on our board,” general manager Dan Morgan said. “Big, long, athletic, physical — a guy with high upside that we’re extremely excited about adding him to our room. Think he can play left side, think he can play right side, brings a lot of value to us. So, yeah, we’re really excited.”
The Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, native just wrapped up a three-year tenure with Georgia. Last season with the Bulldogs, he started 13 games at left tackle.
“I think I bring the energy every single day, regardless if it’s a practice or walk through or a game,” Freeling said. “Y’all, I might be a rookie, but I’m gonna bring the energy every single day, just because I don’t think I can go out there and play offensive line without it.”
At the NFL Scouting Combine in February, Freeling ran a 4.93-second 40-yard dash. He also posted a 33.5-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot-7 broad jump.
“We weren’t sure if he was going to be there — we thought he might get taken a little sooner,” Morgan said. “So, when he was there, it was an easy pick for us.”
Morgan said, following the selection, the team never considered trading up to select Freeling. But head coach Dave Canales acknowledged that the team’s pre-draft planning for different scenarios gave them an understanding that Freeling could fall to them.
“The way it played out, he came right to us,” Canales said. “This is a guy we really valued. And for us, of course, our philosophy is always, ‘Let’s challenge our roster. Let’s challenge every room with great players.’ And to get an opportunity to have a guy like this with the athletic ability, the length, the size and all that — it’s incredible. So, we’ll let him get in there and compete.”
With Freeling now in the mix and Ekwonu coming off patellar tendon surgery, the Panthers could have the rookie compete with free-agent addition Rasheed Walker at the left tackle position. Canales said last month that he wasn’t looking to use a first-round pick on depth, and Freeling will need to prove he isn’t just depth in a competition with Walker this summer.
Freeling comes to Carolina with 18 college starts on his resume. Despite that lack of experience, Canales is looking forward to seeing what Freeling can do on the field with offensive line coach Joe Gilbert and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin serving as his teachers.
“You’d always like guys to have more games, more experience that way,” Canales said. “I just know different scenarios happen in the game. But ... having a guy that has limited starts, when you get them, you really do have a chance to imprint on them — just our style, philosophy and techniques and drills and all those things. So, there’s a give and take there.”
Freeling, in theory, could serve as the Panthers’ left tackle or primary backup (swing) tackle as a rookie. He could also be a long-term replacement for Ekwonu, who is a free agent next year, or Moton, who has a contract that expires after 2027.
“He’s an unbelievable kid,” Morgan said. “Just always happy, great smile. He loves football, which is huge for Dave and (me) and the rest of the staff, is to get guys that love football and are passionate about being great. And you felt that from Monroe every single time you talked to him.”
“He just loves the game, loves competing — he’s tough” Morgan added. “So, he brings everything that we were looking for.”
Panthers’ remaining draft picks:
Second round (1): 51st overall
Third round (1): 83rd overall
Fourth round (1): 119th overall
Fifth round (2): 158th overall (via MIN), 159th overall
Sixth round (1): 200th overall
This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 10:02 PM.
