27 Days, 27 Picks: QB Josh Freeman
In 27 Days, 27 Picks, Bucs Wire will analyze the last 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round draft picks, one for each day leading up to the 2023 NFL draft. We’ll take a look at the player’s college stats, their pre-draft numbers (either via the NFL Combine or their Pro Day), their NFL stats, some player footage and analysis at the end on whether the pick itself was a good one.
Our next player is another first-round quarterback by the Buccaneers. Josh Freeman’s career started out promising in Tampa Bay after a good 2010 campaign, but the following years weren’t nearly as kind and forced the Bucs to keep looking for their QB of the future.
Check out the draft rundown on Freeman below:
College Stats
John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports Copyright (c) 2007 John Rieger
Josh Freeman played college football at Kansas State.
Year | G | Cmp | Att | Comp% | Yds | TD | Int |
2006 | 11 | 140 | 270 | 51.9 | 1780 | 6 | 15 |
2007 | 12 | 316 | 499 | 63.3 | 3353 | 18 | 11 |
2008 | 12 | 224 | 382 | 58.6 | 2945 | 20 | 8 |
Total | 35 | 680 | 1151 | 59.1 | 8070 | 44 | 34 |
Pre-Draft Measurements
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump |
6 ft 5 3/4 in | 248 lb | 32 3/4 in | 10 in | 4.97s | 4.43s | 7.11s | 33.5 in | 9 ft 11 in |
Pick Selected
Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Josh Freeman was selected with the No. 17 pick in the 2009 NFL draft.
Player selected before him: DE Larry English, San Diego Chargers
Player selected after him: DE Robert Ayers, Denver Broncos
NFL Stats
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Josh Freeman played seven seasons in the NFL. He played five for the Bucs, one for the Vikings, and one for the Colts.
Year | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | INT |
2009 | TB | 10 | 158 | 290 | 54.5 | 1855 | 10 | 18 |
2010 | TB | 16 | 291 | 474 | 61.4 | 3451 | 25 | 6 |
2011 | TB | 15 | 346 | 551 | 62.8 | 3592 | 16 | 22 |
2012 | TB | 16 | 306 | 558 | 54.8 | 4065 | 27 | 17 |
2013 | TB/MIN | 4 | 63 | 147 | 42.9 | 761 | 2 | 4 |
2015 | IND | 1 | 15 | 28 | 53.6 | 149 | 1 | 1 |
Total | 62 | 1179 | 2048 | 57.6 | 13873 | 81 | 68 |
Player Footage
Pick Analysis
(Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
Much like with QB Jameis Winston, who we looked at a few days ago, the warning signs were there when the Bucs drafted Freeman — He’d thrown 34 interceptions in college and had just one productive season with the Wildcats, winning no awards or honors during his time with Kansas State.
He had the physicals, though, and that was all Tampa Bay needed. And for a second, it looked like it was going to work out, as Freeman had an impressive sophomore campaign that got the Bucs 10 wins and narrowly missing out on a playoff spot. It went all downhill from there, though, as he was never able to replicate that 2010 campaign. Rumors of a growing rift between Freeman and then-head coach Greg Schiano resulted in his release in 2013 after a poor start to the year, and his career fizzled out afterward as he jumped between teams.
Could the Bucs have made a better pick here, though, needing a QB? The answer is no, as no other quarterback taken after Freeman ever amounted to much. Perhaps there could have been some better development along the line in his career, as it appears he did have some potential, but it’s hard to fault Tampa Bay for this one given the surrounding circumstances.
