UGA OT Monroe Freeling considered combine winner after historic day

Indianapolis — Monroe Freeling arrived at the 2026 NFL Combine with first-round buzz and left with a performance that scouts will reference for years. The Georgia offensive tackle, listed at 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds, became the first player in combine history to combine a sub-5.00-second 40-yard dash, a 30-plus-inch vertical leap, and a nine-foot broad jump at that size, cementing his status as one of the event’s biggest winners.

Freeling clocked a 4.93-second 40, the fifth-fastest among all offensive linemen, and his 1.71-second 10-yard split trailed only Alabama center Parker Brailsford. He leapt 33.50 inches vertically—also fifth among linemen—and covered nine feet, seven inches in the broad jump, tying for third. The cumulative effort produced an unofficial 9.99 Raw Athletic Score, second-highest for any offensive lineman tested at the combine since 1987.

USA TODAY Sports draft analyst Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz quickly labeled Freeling a combine winner, writing the tackle “has all the tools to hang at offensive tackle” in the NFL. “It wasn’t too long ago that the late first round seemed like a stretch,” Middlehurst-Schwartz added. “Now, the top half of Day 1 looks entirely reasonable for Freeling.”

Athleticism has always been the selling point for the former Bulldogs starter. After taking over for Earnest Greene III midway through the 2024 season, Freeling endured growing pains—including a 60.3 PFF grade in Georgia’s 23-10 loss to Notre Dame. He answered those questions in 2025, starting every game at left tackle while allowing only nine pressures and three sacks. His 85.6 pass-blocking grade helped him earn coaches’ All-SEC second-team honors and positioned him as a lock for the top half of the 2026 first round.

With measurements, technique, and now elite testing data in hand, Monroe Freeling has given NFL decision-makers a rare blend of size and explosiveness—and one of the clearest combine statements in recent memory.