Monroe Freeling's draft call with the Carolina Panthers featured plenty of joy, a lot of laughs and even a little love.

On Thursday evening, the Panthers made the University of Georgia offensive tackle the 19th overall selection of the 2026 NFL Draft. And before the night was over, Carolina's social media squad posted the moment the 21-year-old Freeling found out from owner David Tepper, general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales.

Carolinas calling ☎️#NFLDraft | @budlight pic.twitter.com/2VcmkaF06D

Freeling talked about receiving the call during his very first chat with local reporters.

"I think Detroit was still on the clock, and I got a call, and I was like, hold on, let me pick this up, and they're like, 'Hey, this is the Carolina Panthers.' I was like, 'No way. There's just no way," he said, via Kassidy Hill of Panthers.com.

"It was surreal, and it's still surreal, and I don't even know if it's set in quite yet that I'm staying home and I'm only a three-hour drive from home, and it's closer than I was in Athens, so it's still not really setting in yet. But I imagine that in the next 24 hours, maybe even the next week, it's going to really hit me that I'm here and I'm blocking for a former teammate of mine [Trevor Etienne], and it's everything I've ever wanted."

While Freeling may not have a defined role for 2026 just yet, with Rasheed Walker and Taylor Moton as the projected starters at the tackle spots, the Charleston, S.C. native won't have to go far to settle into his new home.

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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: Watch Monroe Freeling's amazing call with Panthers