Oh, this is something, alright... With Monroe Freeling heading to the Carolina Panthers with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, that means he will be taking on a familiar face twice annually in Jalon Walker of the Atlanta Falcons. These guys were teammates Between the Hedges in 2023 and 2024 before Walker was the No. 15 overall pick by the Dirty Birds a year ago. Now, they are big rivals...
Freeling could have come off the board a few picks earlier, but he was always going to end up going in the late teens to early 20s. His draft stock continued to soar throughout the process, but a lack of playing experience may have dinged him far more than some talent evaluators expected. Then again, the upside he has working for him must have intrigued Dan Morgan throughout the draft process.
Even though the Panthers won the NFC South a season ago, they did so with a sub-.500 record. By completing the season sweep of the Falcons, they got to host a home playoff game. Atlanta may now have the longest active playoff drought in the NFC, but the Falcons are coming. They might have the most talented roster in the division. This includes Walker coming into his own in year two at the helm.
So with Walker coming off the edge for Atlanta, Freeling has to be able to hold his own in Charlotte.
Monroe Freeling has to view Jalon Walker in a new light as a division rival
For years, these guys went up against each other in practice. They helped make each other better. The talent was always there for both of them, but that talent has to become results at the highest level of the game for Freeling and Walker. Freeling's job is to now keep diminutive Bryce Young upright. Walker's job is to blow things up in the Carolina, New Orleans, and Tampa Bay backfields.
Right now, the next few years of the NFC South could be determined by Walker's versatility trying to combat Freeling's lankiness. Athletic ability got them this far. We all know what we saw out of them the last few years in Athens. While they are going up against the best of the best across the board, how the compete against one another may determine the fate of their respective NFL careers now.
Ultimately, this is one of those unique wrinkles that makes the NFL so fascinating. College teammates become rivals, and college rivals can in turn become close teammates. They both chose to come to Georgia, but two bitter rivals chose to bring them into the NFC South. A four-hour drive up and down I-85 is all that will separate them. May they both continue to bring out the very best in one another...
Whether or not they want it to be the case, Freeling and Walker will share this unique NFL connection.
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