Carolina Panthers insist rookie Monroe Freeling is ‘ready.’ Why he’ll have to be
Robert Hunt tries to resist judging rookies.
The NFL is a different beast, he said. There is no substitute for experience, no predictor more strong than “real reps.”
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But something about Monroe Freeling tells Hunt that Freeling is “ready.”
That’s good news. And Hunt isn’t alone in his assertion: General manager Dan Morgan and defensive lineman Derrick Brown both used that same word when describing their No. 19 pick in the draft in April. “Ready.”
There’s a subtext to that sentiment, that word, though:
Freeling will have to be ready.
The Carolina Panthers will effectively be without their top two starting offensive tackles for at least a chunk of the regular season. Starting left tackle Ickey Ekwonu ruptured his patellar tendon in the final game of last season and will start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. And Taylor Moton — the eldest statesman on an increasingly veteran line — found out he had a blood clot in his lung earlier this summer, something that will sideline him for a portion of the regular season.
The plan now, Morgan said Wednesday, is for Freeling to start at right tackle and for free-agent pickup and four-year vet Rasheed Walker to start at left tackle. That’s a lot to put on a rookie’s shoulders, no doubt.
But if you ask Hunt, it’s nothing Freeling can’t handle.
“I’m excited for Monroe,” Hunt said. “To have a chance to come out and compete for a job, day one, is special. I think he has all the physical tools to do that. He’s young, so I expect him to fire off the ball with an attitude. So I’m excited to work with him. I’m excited to see what he can do.”
Hunt added: “We kind of talked about it briefly. And I think he’s ready.”
Freeling, the 6-foot-7, 325-pound tackle out of Georgia, earned high praise during draft season as a player with a high ceiling. He asserted himself as an exceptional pass blocker in the SEC, even if he only had one season as a full-time starter. He’s coachable and athletic, scouts have said. He’s “moldable,” Morgan said, and that applies in many senses of the word: He gained weight ahead of rookie minicamp, for instance — weighing in 15 pounds above what he competed in at Georgia.
So there’s plenty of reason for optimism.
But the way the Panthers had their depth chart set up — signing Walker as well as tackle Stone Forsyth in free agency — playing immediately didn’t necessarily have to be in the cards for Freeling.
But now, with Moton temporarily out of the picture, that’s changed.
Freeling suddenly has a lot on his shoulders.
And Morgan acknowledged that.
“He’s a rookie, and he’s going to go out there, and nothing’s perfect,” Morgan said. “Nothing’s perfect with veteran guys, either. So I know what Monroe is made of. He’s a competitor. He’s super smart. He’s going to attack this thing. And we have full confidence in him.”
Morgan added: “There are some little things that he’s going to have to get used to (after playing on the left side in college and now transitioning to right tackle). But he’s a young, moldable rookie. … He’s going to be coached really well by Joe Gilbert. Joe will do a great job with him. We have full confidence in him. We have full confidence in Monroe, and they’re going to attack it together.”
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The Panthers’ offensive line has been a strength for the team the past two seasons. Right guard Hunt was a Pro Bowler in 2024; he missed all but three games in 2025 because of injury. Left guard Damien Lewis has been a silent stat-sheet stuffer. Ekwonu has progressed; Moton has mostly fended off the injury bug, and the reserves — including “sixth-man” offensive lineman Brady Christensen, whom the team brought back earlier this month — have mostly done what they’ve needed to when called upon.
In 2025, the Panthers earned an 86.4 Pro Football Focus pass-blocking efficiency rating, which ranked eighth-best across the league. That all powered Bryce Young — who was sacked only 27 times — to a career year as a passer and paved the way for a 1,000-yard rusher in Rico Dowdle (who has since moved on in free agency).
This offensive line success is partly why the fan base was a bit surprised when the Panthers selected Freeling in the first round of the draft. But now, with both starting tackles sidelined, that move of preparation — of choosing “the best guy available” in the draft — has aged well for this front office.
Now Freeling just needs to be ready to play — as his teammates insist he is and will be.
“I think the biggest thing for Monroe is going to be absorbing the coaching, and taking the coaching while not letting the outside noise getting to him,” said Derrick Brown, a Pro Bowl defensive lineman who is no stranger to taking on a starting role immediately, after being drafted by the Panthers in 2020. “We all know this is a different league. And just being able to lean on T-Mo, Ickey, Rasheed, all the guys who’ve done it and been through the trials and tribulations.
“We wish him the best in this experience he’s about to go through. But it’s one of those things where I think he’ll be ready to play come September.”
Hunt agreed.
“I got a thing that I go by: I never judge rookies,” Hunt said. “I think you only get better with real reps. I think you get better with game reps. That’s kind of the situation he’s in now.
“But you know, you got five out there. And then you got defensive playmakers Pat Jones, you got (Nic) Scourton that will get him ready every day. And I’m going to challenge him. So I think he’ll be ready.”
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Again, in saying this, Hunt is saying two things about Freeling.
The first is that he believes Freeling is ready.
The second: that the Panthers need him to be.
This story was originally published July 23, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
