Georgia OT Monroe Freeling picked at No. 19 by Carolina Panthers
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Georgia finally got on the board on Thursday night during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, with offensive tackle stud Monroe Freeling being taken No. 19 overall by the Carolina Panthers.
The 6-foot-7, 315-pound behemoth instantly becomes a possible future centerpiece of the Panthers’ O-line. Freeling made his mark at Georgia, but he declared for the draft after playing only 3 collegiate seasons and making only 18 starts, which isn’t a particularly large sample size for a player going that high in the draft.
But Carolina was convinced after Freeling made all 18 of those starts at left tackle. Freeling played his high school football in South Carolina and arrived at Georgia for the 2023 season with as big of expectations as Freeling is big. He was a 5-star prize out of Charleston, and 3 years later Freeling is a first-round prize who’ll be starting his NFL career in the neighboring state of North Carolina.
Freeling’s NFL Draft stock skyrocketed with his strong play last fall in helping Georgia advance to the College Football Playoff, and his draft stock also was helped with his arm measurement (34 3/4) as well as his impressive 40-yard dash time of 4.93.
The Georgia lineman became the 5th SEC player to be selected in Thursday night’s first round, after the conference used to huge success in Round 1 didn’t have a player come off the board until the No. 6 pick.
But Freeling’s selection at No. 19 kept the SEC rolling suddenly in the first round on Thursday night. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about that trend possibly continuing and which SEC top talent could still go in Round 1:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
