Panthers Should Be Wary of Dillon Thieneman, Monroe Freeling in NFL Draft

The Carolina Panthers have been linked to a ton of prospects during the pre-draft process. This is standard fare, but it does make it a little difficult to parse through which ones are actually on the team's draft board.

Monroe Freeling and Dillon Thieneman have both been linked to the team. Thieneman has been a particularly common name since he's right in range of the 19th pick and fills a huge need. Freeling is a popular choice due to the Panthers' increasing need for a tackle.

No prospect is perfect, and these two certainly aren't. But there's a big reason the Panthers may want to be wary of them come draft night.

Panthers should show caution with NFL draft risers

Dillon Thieneman meets with the media at the 2026 NFL Combine. | Clark Wade/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Panthers executive Brandt Tilis doesn't like draft risers. He likes prospects who are consistently viewed as top prospects rather than those who burst onto the scene late or rise after the season ends.

Well, in the case of both Dillon Thieneman and Monroe Freeling, there's cause, then, to be worried. They were both just deemed some of the biggest draft risers since the beginning of last season, and they're two potential first-round picks.

Buying the hype of a draft riser in the third round isn't as risky, but doing so in the first round is. If they prove to be a flash in the pan, wasting a third-round pick is not nearly as detrimental as wasting a first-rounder.

About Freeling, Jeff Legwold wrote, "Scouts who monitor the SEC said they could see Freeling's pass-protection technique improve in real time. His hand placement got better throughout the season against some of the most explosive defensive players on this draft board."

This is a good thing, but it also implies that beforehand, Freeling wasn't good with his hands. It suggests there's a possibility for regression to that struggle or at least regression to the mean, which would not leave him as a first-round prospect.

As for Thieneman, his rise is largely tied to the Combine. "He uncorked a 4.37-second 40-yard dash and a 41-inch vertical at the combine at 6-foot, 201 pounds. That makes folks circle back," Legwold wrote.

Combine risers are the most dangerous of all (see: Anthony Richardson). Athleticism is fantastic, and it can't be taught at the next level. But so many raw prospects who were freak athletes just didn't translate.

Georgia offensive lineman Monroe Freeling (OL24) during the NFL Scouting Combine | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Thieneman is a three-year starter, but is there value in taking someone that high who only became universally considered a first-rounder after the Combine? There's less risk that he won't pan out, but there's a lot of risk that he'll be overdrafted.

Neither Freeling nor Thieneman would be a particularly awful or shocking pick, although we believe tackle should not be a consideration in the first round. Still, both of them carry a risk that other prospects do not.