CHARLOTTE — On paper, there's not an immediate job for Panthers first-round pick Monroe Freeling.

But there's a lot of time to compete between now and the time the names on the paper hit the field.

Panthers general manager Dan Morgan and coach Dave Canales were hesitant to pigeonhole Freeling into any particular role or side of the ball. But they know he's adding something to a room that needs it.

"The way it played out, he came right to us," Canales said. "And this was a guy that we really valued, and for us, of course, our philosophy is always let's challenge our roster. Let's challenge every room with great players. And to get an opportunity to have a guy like this with athletic ability, the length, size, and all that, it's just, it's incredible.

"So we'll get him in there, we'll let him compete. That's what he'll be doing on the field."

The Panthers have a number of options on the offensive line at the moment, but few long-term plans or sure things. Veteran right tackle Taylor Moton is turning 32 during training camp, and he's the one under contract beyond this season. On the left, they have Ikem Ekwonu coming off a torn patellar tendon and Rasheed Walker on a one-year deal after signing here in free agency.

But now, they have a 21-year-old tackle, who is 6-foot-7 with 34 3/4-inch arms, who also ran a 4.93-second 40 at the combine.

"We're really excited about Monroe," Morgan said. "Best player on our board, big, long, athletic, physical, a guy with high upside that we're extremely excited about. Adding him to our room, you know, I think he can play left side, he can play right side, brings a lot of value to us.

"So, yeah, we're really excited. Best player on our board."

Morgan was obviously asked about Ekwonu's status, and beyond saying he's "doing great," didn't offer any update on the timeline for the 2022 first-rounder's potential return from the injury suffered in the playoff loss to the Rams.

Because for Morgan, who hadn't used a draft pick on an offensive lineman since he's been the general manager, this was about doing for the offensive line what he did for the defensive line in free agency last year.

Canales laughed and said that offensive line coach Joe Gilbert (who works with the tackles) and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin (who works with the guards) will be happier with them now. But having that kind of individual attention for the linemen was part of the reason they hired both those coaches (who were with Canales in Tampa) and will benefit Freeling.

"It's amazing to have that flexibility, you talked about Joe and Goody, two guys that I really trust who are really wondering if I didn't like them because we hadn't selected any linemen in the last couple of drafts," Canales said. "But no, they're fired up and it, it works out really well, especially when you bring in a young player, because he's really got his personal tutor, you know, and Joe does such an excellent job and, and did that in Tampa as well, and, he's going to be all hands on deck and be really involved with Monroe's development."

Canales also opened the door for using Freeling as a red-zone threat, with one important caveat about Freeling's 10 3/4-inch hands.

"I've got to see what kind of hands we're dealing with here," Canales laughed. "But, we definitely use a big tight end. So if he doesn't win a job, he's going to play some way, shape, or form, because he's just such a talent."