It's been a long night to be an Atlanta Falcons fan. They had to watch two of their division rivals land absolute game-changers before watching the Los Angeles Rams use their first-round pick to land their new franchise quarterback. But these dangerous waters are only getting tougher to navigate.
While the Bucs landed a star pass-rusher with the 15th overall pick in Rueben Bain, they reheated the Falcons' nachos from when they drafted Jalon Walker with the same selection a year ago. Unfortunately, the Carolina Panthers drafted a tackle who is sure to make Walker's life much harder.
With the 19th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Panthers selected Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling-- Walker's former college teammate. And as Carolina looks to continue their emphasis on the trenches his offseason, it will force the two to face off twice a year.
The Panthers drafting Monroe Freeling means they want to challenge Jalon Walker's ascent
Freeling is one of the more polarizing prospects in this draft class. He measured in at over 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds at the combine, and for his size, has some pretty solid athleticism. But he also doesn't have the quality tape of other top tackles in this class like Francis Mauigoa and Spencer Fano.
Freeling is pretty inexperienced, but luckily, he'll get some time to sit behind Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton in Carolina. However, once he does get his chance to start, he'll need to put on strength to deal with the more dominant NFC South pass-rushers like Walker in Atlanta and now Bain in Tampa Bay.
Some people had a top-10 grade on Freeling, but others saw him as a late first-round guy. In a strong OT class, teams were still willing to bet on his upside, but hopefully the Falcons' budding star at pass rusher will be able to get the better of his former teammate twice a season in the near future.
And since the 22-year-old is only getting better, Freeling better be ready for the challenge.
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