With roughly one-third of the NFL season behind us, we can start grading some rookie performances. The Detroit Lions may have found another cornerstone along their offensive line, while the Philadelphia Eagles could have an unexpected answer to replacing Lane Johnson. But which rookie has earned the highest marks?
Six weeks into the season, there are 14 rookie offensive linemen who have started three or more games, and that will be our cutoff for who can receive a grade at this point in the year. Four of those linemen play in the NFC, and we'll cover them in this post. Our AFC starters will be graded over the next week or two.
Without further ado, let's hand out some grades for the NFC's starting rookie offensive linemen!
Panthers' Monroe Freeling gets a harsh introduction to the NFL
Grade: C-
The Carolina Panthers drafted Monroe Freeling with the 19th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Carolina initially drafted Freeling as a developmental player to play behind veterans Rasheed Walker and Taylor Moton while Ikem Ekwonu recovered from a ruptured patellar tendon suffered last January.
Then, Moton was diagnosed with blood clots at the start of training camp, and Freeling stepped into a starting role right away. He held that role for the first four weeks of the season, switching from his primary college position of left tackle to right tackle in place of Moton.
Freeling played admirably, but not without issues in those four games. He showed off his movement skills, fluidity, and clean pass sets in his starts, which was impressive considering the position switch.
But there were plenty of issues on tape as well. Freeling was clearly struggling with the strength of defenders at this level. He was often being pushed back into the pocket, losing balance and failing to maintain blocks in the run game.
There were some balance issues for Freeling in college as well, so this isn't completely out of the blue. But the number of times Freeling was beaten with power was problematic.
Freeling sustained a knee injury that kept him out of last week's matchup against the Eagles, but Moton was healthy again and inserted right back into the starting lineup. Head Coach Dave Canales has said it'll be up to Freeling to beat out one of the veterans for a starting spot once he is healthy.
It was a rough start for Freeling, but he showed plenty of positives along with the negatives and gained valuable experience as the first-team right tackle for two and a half months.
Final verdict: Freeling has the athletic tools to develop into an NFL starter, but his struggles against power and uncertain starting role keep his early grade at a C-.
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