CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers selected offensive tackle Monroe Freeling from Georgia with the 19th overall pick in the NFL draft Thursday night, adding stability for a position in flux.
Now the question is where to play him?
The 6-foot-7, 315-pound Freeling started 18 games over three seasons for the Bulldogs, including all 13 at left tackle in 2025. But Freeling, who is considered a powerful run-blocker and adept at pass protection with 34-inch arms, also played at right tackle earlier in his career at Georgia and said he would feel comfortable playing either spot.
Carolina’s starting left tackle Ickey Ekwonu — a 2022 first-round draft pick — is expected to miss most of this season after suffering a torn patellar tendon in the team’s 31-28 playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The Panthers signed free agent Rasheed Walker to a one-year deal as a short-term replacement.
On the other side, Taylor Moton has been a mainstay at right tackle, starting 145 games. But he is 31 years old, and it's unclear just how much longer he will play.
“We’re going to figure all that out,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said when asked where he plans to play Freeling this season. “Right now, we just got to get him in here, talk to him, get him on the field. Most of our (offensive tackles) end up playing both sides throughout camp. That’s just kind of the way we do it. It give us flexibility. ... But it's too early to tell.”
Freeling isn't viewing this as a redshirt year with the Panthers.
He's here to start right away.
“I can't go in without the mentality that I'm starting,” said Freeling, who grew up near Charleston, South Carolina. “I want to go in there and start. But I'm also going to go in there and try to get my teammates better, too. And I think they can get me better as a rookie. I'm excited to learn, but I'm also excited to compete.”
The 21-year-old Freeling joked that he's been “tossed onto the offensive line” ever since he was young because he was bigger than most of the kids his age. And while he was known as a good basketball player as a teenager, he chose to stick it out as an offensive lineman, a position he grew to love.
Freeling said he plans to bring high energy to the Panthers, just as he did at Georgia.
“Not every little kid wants to play offensive line,” Freeling said. “But if you don’t grow a love for it, you’re not going to make it. I have a love for dominating the man in front of me and making it fun and playing with other offensive linemen.”
The Panthers are coming off a season where they finished 8-9 in the regular season but still managed to win the NFC South, snapping a seven-year playoff drought.
General manager Dan Morgan — a former inside linebacker — selected an offensive player in the first round for the third straight year. He took wide receivers in his first two drafts, with Xavier Legette in 2024 and reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan in the 2025.
Morgan said he felt entering this offseason the team needed to get bigger, stronger and deeper up front.
The Panthers went heavy on defense in free agency, signing edge rusher Jaelan Phillips to a four-year, $120 million contract and Pro Bowl linebacker Devin Lloyd to a three-year, $45 million contract.
That allowed them to pivot to the offensive line in the draft.
“More than anything, we want to keep both our fronts strong,” Morgan said. “To add a big, long, talented tackle here in the first round, it just keeps our offensive line strong. To add somebody with the talent that Monroe has, it was just too good to pass up.”
Morgan added the Panthers might not be done upgrading the lines with two days left in the draft.
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FILE - Georgia offensive lineman Monroe Freeling (24) runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, on March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Even in the disappointment of Ohio State's loss in the College Football Playoff last season, Caleb Downs couldn't help but peek at his NFL future.
After all, Miami's 24-14 victory in the CFP quarterfinals came at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
“We kind of talked about that right after the game this year, so yeah those conversations definitely came up,” Downs said.
Sure enough, the safety who skipped his senior season of college is headed to the Cowboys.
Dallas went defense with both first-round picks in the NFL draft, inching up one spot to take Downs at No. 11 and moving down three positions to get UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence with the 23rd choice Thursday night.
The Cowboys trying to bolster one of the NFL's worst defenses was expected, and they took no chances on getting a player they wanted in Downs. Dallas sent the 12th pick and two fifth-rounders to Miami.
“He was a prize for us sitting there,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “I was just thinking of the times that we’ve been the next pick and have somebody move up and get him. We had every reason to think that might be happening.”
Dallas drafted Lawrence after sending the 20th pick and a seventh-round choice to Philadelphia. Dallas added two fourth-round picks in the deal.
Downs was a two-time Associated Press All-American with the Buckeyes after starting his career at Alabama, and has a career record of 1-1 at the home of the Cowboys.
He helped Ohio State win the national championship in 2024, including a victory over Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals at AT&T Stadium. The Buckeyes were the No. 2 seed in the CFP last year before getting knocked off by the Hurricanes in the Cotton Bowl.
“I had a great sense about that,” Downs said of ending up with the Cowboys. “We kind of knew that there was a good opportunity there and a good relationship. They had real interest. So I was excited about it.”
About two hours before the start of the draft, two people with knowledge of the decision said receiver George Pickens was planning to sign the $27.3 million franchise tag with the Cowboys. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the signing wasn't official.
News of Pickens' decision sparked trade speculation because the 25-year-old has to be under contract to be dealt to another team, but Dallas made no such move before bolstering the defense.
The Cowboys entered the draft with needs everywhere for a defense that gave up the most points (511) with the fewest interceptions (six) in franchise history last season as Dallas missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Downs, considered one of the most polished players in the draft after 44 college games and the rare distinction of five CFP starts, should be an immediate upgrade for defensive coordinator Christian Parker, who was hired away from Philadelphia in January. Parker turned a pair of defensive backs — Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell — into All-Pros with the Eagles last season.
Downs will join a group that includes 2023 All-Pro cornerback Daron Bland, who has been plagued by foot injuries the past two years, and Shavon Revel Jr.
Revel was a third-round pick coming off a major knee injury last year but managed to get on the field for the final seven games. The Cowboys think highly of the young cornerback's coverage skills.
Dallas added two safeties in free agency in Jalen Thompson, who spent his first six seasons with Arizona, and P.J. Locke, along with cornerback Cobie Durant.
Malik Hooker, a starting safety the past three years in Dallas, has one year left on his contract. Downs has the loftiest draft position for an Ohio State safety since Hooker went 15th to Indianapolis 11 years ago.
Dallas was on the short list of suitors for Maxx Crosby before the star edge rusher’s proposed trade from Las Vegas to Baltimore was called off by the Ravens over medical concerns. The Cowboys pivoted to Rashan Gary, acquiring him in a trade just as free agency was getting started in March.
Even with that move, pass rush was still a consideration because pressuring the quarterback has been in flux since Dallas traded Parsons in the middle of a contentious contract stalemate.
The 6-foot-5, 253-pound Lawrence had seven sacks among a career-high 11 tackles for loss as a senior at UCF. He was one of four players in the Football Bowl Subdivision to have at least five sacks in each of the past three seasons.
Lawrence said he saw a mock draft that had Downs at 12 and him at 20 — the original positions the Cowboys held.
“So, it kind of like played that part in my head. Like, it kind of was there,” Lawrence said. “But I didn’t want to really think about it as much because like I said, I don’t know how it was going to play out. But I’ll say ... it was crazy.”
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Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs walks on stage before the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs poses on the red carpet before the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs walks on stage after being chosen by the Dallas Cowboys with the 11th overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs puts on a hat after being chosen by the Dallas Cowboys with the 11th overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
